More than 50 Renoir works scheduled for National Gallery display
The National Gallery will be staging a major exhibition of paintings by French Impressionist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).
‘Renoir and Love’ is set to adorn the walls of The National Gallery in the latter part of 2026. Experts say it’ll be the most significant exhibition of the French impressionist’s work in the UK for 20 years.
The National Gallery last held an exhibition devoted to the artist in 2007. It’ll include the iconic Bal au Moulin de la Galette (1876, the Musée d’Orsay, Paris). The painting is being exhibited in the UK for the first time.
Organised in partnership with the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, ‘Renoir and Love’ will focus on the crucial years of the artist’s career, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s.
The exhibition traces the evolution 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.
‘More than any of his contemporaries, Renoir was committed to chronicling love and friendship and their informal manifestations as keys to modern life,’ explains Christopher Riopelle, Exhibition co-curator.
‘Whether on Parisian streetcorners or in sun-dappled woodlands, he understood that emotion could be as fleeting, as evanescent, as blinding, as his other great and transitory subject, sunlight itself.’
In the early 1880s, Renoir moved away from Impressionist style with its fascination with the play of light to more solid, sculptural compositions, but the theme of friendship and joy in nature remains.
Locations for ‘Renoir and Love’
The exhibition was initiated by the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and organised by the Musée d’Orsay, the National Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
It’ll be shown at The Musée d’Orsay, Paris (17 March – 19 July 2026) before heading to The National Gallery, London (3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027).
It’s also scheduled to be installed at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (20 February – 13 June 2027).
Breaktime News recently reported on the re-opening of The National Gallery’s Sainbury Wing.
