Bal du moulin de la Galette by Renoir: Paris Dancing in Dappled Light (1876)
Sunday light falls through trees onto blue dresses, straw hats, and a crowded Montmartre dance floor. Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette (1876) does not freeze a single hero. It catches a neighborhood at play - dappled faces, overlapping talk, and the Impressionist bet that modern leisure was worth as much paint as any battlefield. Quick facts Artist: Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) Date: 1876 Medium: Oil on canvas Collection: Musee d'Orsay, Paris Notable fact: Painted in Montmartre; a manifesto of Impressionist leisure - broken color, outdoor light, and contemporary crowd life Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Bal du moulin de la Galette , 1876. Oil on canvas. Musee d'Orsay, Paris. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Montmartre on a Weekend The Moulin de la Galette was a real open-air dance hall where working Parisians paid for wine, galettes, and an afternoon of flirtation. Renoir peopled the canvas with friends and locals rather than allegory...