Renoir and Love

At the National Gallery, London, an exhibition devoted to Pierre-Auguste Renoir traces the way the painter captures the links between people. From couples dancing to friends seated at tables, the canvases from the 1860s to the 1880s reveal all that a gesture or a glance can convey about a meeting.

Lent by the Musée d’Orsay and presented for the first time in the United Kingdom, the Bal du moulin de la Galette lends this idea the scope of a crowd scene. In Montmartre, the dancers mingle with groups gathered around tables. In 'Danse à Bougival', the movement tightens around a single couple. Between the guinguette and the street scenes, such as 'La Place Clichy', the itinerary follows a painter attentive to the places where Paris of his era is found.

This proximity takes on another meaning in the family paintings. In 'Maternité', Renoir depicts Aline Charigot, his future wife, nursing their first child. The Large Bathers, shown toward the end of the route, mark a turning point. The bodies take on sharper contours and the scene moves away from daily Paris life. This London leg extends the project begun by the Musée d’Orsay and organized with the National Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Practical information
• Late opening on Fridays until 9 pm.
• Closed 24–26 December and 1 January.
• Pay-what-you-will admission on Friday evenings until 15 January, from £1.