Dance at Bougival 1883 By Pierre Auguste Renoir

Pierre Auguste Renoir Dance at Bougival 1883

Pierre Auguste Renoir was a leading French Impressionist painter. He created many famous oil paintings during his long and successful career, including several portraits of dancing couples. It is the most famous Renoir dance painting and one of our popular oil painting reproductions. 

When was Dance at Bougival painted?

Painted in 1883, Renoir Dance at Bougival shows two dancers lost in their movement. This oil painting is full of motion and light, with a background of lively al fresco café patrons. The woman’s pink dress swirls around her feet while the man gazes lovingly at his partner. While Renoir often employed pastel colors, this work is unusual for the woman’s bright red hat. This hat also appears in Dance in the Country 1883.  Some scholars believe the two individuals are Renoir’s friends, Paul Lhote and Suzanne Valadon. Despite this, others think the man could be Hippolyte-Alphonse Fournaise, who also features Renoir's painting, Luncheon of the Boating Party 1881.

Where did Pierre Auguste Renoir paint Dance at Bougival?

Renoir's oil painting on canvas depicts a gathering in the village of Bougival. Located just fifteen kilometers from Paris, many Impressionist artists use this charming river-side location.  The town inspired Impressionist paintings by artists Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley. For example, oil paintings such as Pissarro’s The Seine at Bougival, Monet’s The Bridge at Bougival, and Berthe Morisot’s The Quay at Bougival. Today, the village of Bougival has an “Impressionists Walk” where tourists can visit famous painting locations. While most Art Historians cite Bougival as the correct location, there is some disagreement. Indeed, Paul Lhote described an exceptionally similar scene in his diary. This dance occurred in Montmartre in Paris, casting doubt on the painting’s origins in Bougival.

Is Renoir's artwork an Impressionist Oil Painting?

This oil on canvas painting is one of Renoir’s last Impressionist paintings. Later in his career, Pierre Renoir moved to more classical and conservative approaches. He abandoned the fleeting effects of light and expressive brushstrokes that characterized the Impressionist movement. Nonetheless, this colorful painting retains the Impressionist’s bright color palette with a modern sense of light and movement. It combines Renoir’s interest in formal composition, inspired by the Italian Old Masters, with Impressionist fluidity and scenes of contemporary life. The work is also an impressionist painting, as he only produced a few sketches for his famous artwork. Renoir arranged his models “en plein air” and then began painting.

Where is the original Dance at Bougival?

The original Pierre Renoir painting now hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA. It remains one of the 100 most famous paintings of all time. Indeed, the museum describes Renoir’s Dance at Bougival as one of its most “beloved works.” The museum bought the work in April 1937 for $150,000.

What are Renoir’s famous Dance paintings?

Pierre Renoir painted several famous dance paintings during his career. These oil paintings include three artworks for the legendary art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel.  In addition to Dance at Bougival, there are two other dance paintings; Dance in the City and Dance in the Country. All three paintings are incredibly similar, depicting a couple dancing in public.  Renoir's paintings share a similar color palette. The women wear pale dresses in all three works, while the men don dark blue or black suits, often with their faces partly obscured. Renoir completed all three famous Dance paintings between January and April 1883. They combine Renoir's characteristic detailing of outdoor scenes and his love of portraiture.  Intriguingly, each portrait also shows a different class of French society. For example, Dance in the City depicts a formal ball attended by the upper classes. Dance at Bougival is a more informal outdoor affair, while Dance in the Country is a simple rural dance.

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