Love Renoir!

This autumn 2026 the National Gallery will stage a major exhibition of paintings by possibly my favourite impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919.) I can't wait to go in January! Organised with the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 'Renoir and Love' focuses on over 50 works from the formative years of his career (mid-1860s to mid-1880s).

'Renoir and Love' will run from 3 Oct 2026 to 31 Jan 2027 and will be the most significant Renoir exhibition in the UK for 20 years. The exhibition will include his most experimental, ambitious and admired works including the iconic 'Bal au Moulin de la Galette' (1876, the Musée d’Orsay, Paris – see below), which will be exhibited in the UK for the first time.

The exhibition tracks the development of the imagery of affection, seduction, conversation, male camaraderie and the sociability of the café and theatre, as well as merry-making, flirtation, courtship and child-rearing in Renoir’s art.

Stunning compositions, such as 'The Umbrellas' show how Renoir develops the theme into paintings 'worthy of the museum.' His Dance compositions remain universally loved symbols of the French fin-de-siècle.