Renoir and Love

A celebration of Renoir’s imagery of love in all its guises, from seduction and courtship to friendship, camaraderie and parenthood. 

More than any of his contemporaries, Renoir was committed to chronicling love and friendship. Whether painting Parisian streetcorners or sun-dappled woodlands, he understood that emotion could be as fleeting and blinding as his other great and transitory subject, sunlight itself. 

Focusing on the crucial period of the artist’s career from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, this catalogue traces the evolution of Renoir’s imagery of love, from affection, flirtation and seduction to camaraderie and parenthood. Such themes are explored in tender and personal works as well as ambitious multi-figure compositions, including Dance at the Moulin de la Galette and The Umbrellas. In the early 1880s Renoir moved away from an impressionistic style to more solid, sculptural compositions, but the theme of friendship and joy in nature remained.

Accompanying the most significant exhibition of the French Impressionist’s work in the UK for 20 years, this publication addresses the broad theme of Renoir and love through a series of thematic essays, interspersed with focused entries on key artworks. 

Exhibition Schedule

Musée d’Orsay, Paris (17 March – 19 July 2026)

The National Gallery, London (3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027) 

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (20 February – 13 June 2027)

Published by National Gallery Group, London