Renoir et l'amour : La modernité heureuse

The exhibition gathers, for this pivotal period in Renoir’s career, around fifty paintings made between 1865 and 1885.

Presented on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876), the retrospective places the artist at the heart of the emergence of the “New Painting” alongside his Impressionist companions and offers a reading focused on his unique way of celebrating human relationships.

In the galleries, a Renoir attentive to emotional bonds and shared pleasures can be discovered: modern elegant parties, couples, scenes of conviviality, and stolen moments from Paris during the Second Empire and early Third Republic.

The fluid brushstrokes and balanced color scheme, characteristic of his palette, shape warm atmospheres where love appears as an antidote to the harshness of modern life, an optimistic and empathetic viewpoint that the exhibition clearly highlights. The selection benefits from international loans and is co-organized with the National Gallery in London and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Among the flagship works exceptionally brought together are La Grenouillère (1869), La Promenade (1870), and naturally, Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876), from prestigious collections (Nationalmuseum Stockholm, J. Paul Getty Museum, Phillips Collection, and other international loans cited by the Museum).

More than a simple anthology, this exhibition offers a renewed look at paintings that have become iconic, emphasizing their expressive power and moral modernity. For those who love radiant painting that tells life’s story, “Renoir and Love: Happy Modernity” is a rare opportunity to be touched by Renoir’s chromatic vitality and benevolent gaze.

An empathetic view of late 19th-century Parisian life Pierre-Auguste Renoir stands out for his empathetic and wonder-filled approach to contemporary reality. While some of his contemporaries explore urban melancholy or irony, he deliberately chooses happy subjects, bathed in light and color.

His loving gaze shines through every composition: tender gestures, lively conversations, shared meals, or joyful dances create a deep sense of unity. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841, 1919), Bal du moulin de la Galette, 1876, oil on canvas, 131.5 × 176.5 cm.

RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt The fluid and sketchy brushstrokes dissolve the figures into their environments, while the chromatic balance envelops the viewer in a warm atmosphere.

Renoir thus celebrates love as a force that governs human relationships and guides his own creation, offering an optimistic vision of Parisian modernity at the end of the Second Empire and the start of the Third Republic. Love as an antidote to the harshness of modern life: this is the deep conviction throughout Renoir’s work.

Elegant parties, couples, and conviviality in Impressionist Paris The exhibition gives special attention to the representation of young couples and moments of conviviality. Renoir avoids overly direct emotions or romantic storytelling, preferring subtlety inspired by 18th-century masters such as Watteau, Boucher, or Fragonard.

His modern elegant parties promote freedom of morals and gender equality, in a context marked by rigid bourgeois norms. ~50 Paintings gathered, made between 1865 and 1885 Large compositions devoted to camaraderie and shared pleasures appear as true manifestos against urban loneliness and class antagonisms.

Guinguettes, public balls, and promenades become spaces of free sociability, where models shine with serene and knowing vitality. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841, 1919), La Promenade, 1870, oil on canvas, 81.3 × 64.8 cm.

Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles La Promenade shows a young couple in an underwood; the woman, dressed in a bright white dress, descends a shaded path while her companion helps her climb the slope. This painting pays tribute to the elegant parties of the 18th century, notably the works of Watteau and Fragonard that Renoir studied at the Louvre.

The dappled light filtering through the foliage became a trademark of the artist’s finest Impressionist works. Renoir combines elements of eternal poetry with an accurate depiction of contemporary life, creating an atmosphere both intimate and universal.

International loans from London, Boston, Stockholm, Washington, and Los Angeles Co-organized with the National Gallery in London and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, this exhibition offers a focused selection of Renoir's greatest paintings in the genre of modern life scenes. Among the key works is La Grenouillère (1869), loaned by the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, La Promenade (1870) by J.

Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the monumental Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876) preserved at the Musée d'Orsay. The exhibition also features Le Déjeuner des canotiers (1880, 1881), exceptionally loaned by the Phillips Collection in Washington, Danse à Bougival (1883) from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and Les Parapluies (1881, 1885) from the National Gallery in London.

These canvases, rarely brought together, reveal all their novelty and evocative power. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), Dance at Bougival, 1883, oil on canvas, 181.9 × 98.1 cm