Renoir and Love

A celebration of Renoir's imagery of love in all its guises: from affection and friendship to flirtation, courtship and parenthood.

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

Focusing on the crucial period of the artist's career from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, encompassing his early and Impressionist paintings, the catalogue traces the evolution of the imagery of love in Renoir's art, from affection, flirtation and seduction to camaraderie and parenthood. Such themes are explored in tender and personal works, as well as beguiling multi-figure compositions of urban and suburban sociability. In the early 1880s, Renoir moved away from an Impressionist style to more solid, sculptural compositions, but the theme of friendship and joy in nature remained.

This publication addresses the broad topic of Renoir and love through a series of thematic essays, interspersed with in-depth entries on key artworks. It will accompany a major international touring exhibition.

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