How are you?
Currently, I am
introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the
title “Interesting
Art Stories”.
The 60th story is “Bal du moulin
de la Galette” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
“Bal du moulin de la Galette” is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one of the most famous Impressionist works.
 |
| Self-portrait, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1910) |
Measuring 131 × 175 cm, this painting is
currently housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. The painting depicts a typical
Sunday afternoon at the Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in
Paris. In the late 19th century, working class Parisians would dress up and
spend time there dancing, drinking and eating galettes until the evening.
 |
| Moulin de la Galette (1885) |
Like other paintings of Renoir's
early maturity, the painting is a typical expression of real life of the
Impressionists, and the rich form, fluid brushstrokes and colorful sunlight
shining through the trees are impressive.
 |
| Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
From 1879 to 1894, the painting was
in the collection of the French painter Gustave Caillebotte, and when he died
it became the property of the French Republic in lieu of an inheritance tax.
Then, the painting was in the collection of the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris
from 1896 to 1929, of the Musée du Louvre from 1929, and then of the Musée
d'Orsay from 1986.
 |
| Self-portrait, Gustave Caillebotte (c.1892) |
Renoir painted a smaller version
(78 × 114 cm) with the same title, which is now believed to be in a private
collection in Switzerland. The two paintings are almost identical except for
their size, but the smaller version was painted in a more fluid form than the
version at the Musée d'Orsay. The painting was catalogued in the list of
exhibited works at the 3rd Impressionist exhibition of 1877, indicating that it
was first exhibited in this exhibition, but it is not known which version was
exhibited there because there was no indication for the size of the painting
and information to identify it.
 |
| Smaller version of Bal du moulin de la Galette |
In May 1876, Renoir conceived a painting that people are dancing at the Moulin de la Galette, and its process is described in detail in the memoir “Renoir et ses amis,” written by his friend Georges Rivière.
 |
| Georges Rivière, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1877) |
For this painting, Renoir used an abandoned cottage in
the rue Cortot, with a garden that Rivière described as "a beautiful
abandoned park" as his studio. At this time, several of Renoir's major
works were painted in this garden, including “La balançoire (The Swing)” and
the gardens and its buildings have been preserved as the Musée de Montmartre.
 |
| La balançoire (The Swing), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1876) |
When Renoir created this painting, he encouraged his models to wear fashionable hats of the time, but Jeanne Samary, his favorite 16-year-old model, refused to accept his suggestion. Standing in this painting, she was the principal model for Renoir’s paintings that also appears in "La balançoire", and the girl in a blue and pink striped dress sitting next to her is her sister, Estelle. These two girls came to the Moulin every Sunday with their two younger sisters, mother and father.
 |
| Portrait of Jeanne Samary, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1878) |
Beside her is a group consisting of the painter Pierre-Franc Lamy and Norbert Goeneutte, who also appears in “La balançoire,” as well as Rivière himself. Don Pedro Vidal de Solares y Cardenas, a Cuban painter in striped trousers behind her, is dancing with the model called Margot (Marguerite Legrand).
 |
| Models of Bal du moulin de la Galette: 1. Jeanne Samary, 2. Estelle Samary, 3. Pierre-Franc Lamy, 4. Norbert Goeneutte, 5. Georges Rivière, 6. Marguerite Legrand, 7. Don Pedro Vidal de Solares y Cardenas |
The exuberant Margot is dancing with Solares who is too reserved, trying to release his tension while dancing. Unfortunately, however, she died of typhoid just two years later, and Renoir cared for her until the end, paying both for her treatment and her funeral.
 |
| Portrait of Margot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1877) |
Rivière recalled that when this painting was being painted on
the spot, the constant winds threatened to blow the canvas away, making it
difficult to paint.
Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment