8 Most Famous Renoir Paintings

Are you looking for the most popular paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir?

Who is Pierre-Auguste Renoir?

Born in 1841 in Limoges, in southwest-central France, to a family of artisans, Pierre-Auguste Renoir went on to become one of the principal exponents of the Impressionist style.

Renoir is credited with producing some of the most remarkable artworks of the said art movement, emphasizing volume and form as well as contours and line in lieu of brushstroke and color.

He had learned many things from the paintings of masters such as Édouard Manet and Camille Pissarro while developing his own unique painting style.

Renoir is celebrated for his sensual nudes as well as enticing scenes of gorgeous girls and typical social events. He is considered one of the most popular French painters in the world.

Let’s check out some of the most famous paintings of Pierre-Auguste Renoir on the list below.

8 Most Famous Renoir Paintings

1. The Swing (1876)

Currently displayed at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, The Swing – or La Balançoire in French – was painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in what are now the Musée de Montmartre gardens in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.

Renoir painted The Swing in the summer of 1876. The men on the painting were his brother Edmond and the painter Norbert Goeneutte. The lady was Jeanne Samary, who was a French actress and Renoir’s favorite model. The little girl was Jeanne’s sister Estelle.

As with all his canvases, Renoir’s joie de vivre, combined with a healthy and cheery outlook, is apparent in The Swing. He is said to be the first great artist to have never worked on a sad painting.

You can view The Swing at The Wallace Collection in London.

2. Two Sisters / On the Terrace (1881)

Two Sisters, also called On the Terrace, was painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1881. The French title, Les Deux Sœurs (Two Sisters), was given by the artist himself. However, the painting’s first owner decided to change it to Sur la Terrasse (On the Terrace).

Renoir painted Two Sisters on the balcony of a restaurant called the Maison Fournaise on an island in the Seine, west of Paris. It shows a young lady and her younger sister with a small basket of wool. The River Seine is seen behind the foliage.

Today, Two Sisters is a part of the collection showcased at the Art Institute of Chicago in the United States.

3. Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881)

Titled in French as Le Déjeuner des Canotiers, Luncheon of the Boating Party was hailed by critics as the best painting showcased in the Salon in 1882.

The richness of form and the artist’s fluid brushstroke are seen in Luncheon of the Boating Party. It depicts Renoir’s friends having a good time on a terrace at the Maison Fournaise, the same restaurant were he painted Two Sisters. Aline Charigot, who would later become Renoir’s wife, is in the foreground playing with an affenpinscher.

The influence of Paolo Veronese, an Italian Renaissance painter, is apparent on Renoir’s style in this painting. Veronese’s 1563 painting called The Wedding Feast at Cana was actually one of Renoir’s favorite works. It shows a banquet theme that is akin to that of the Luncheon of the Boating Party.

If you’d like to appreciate this painting in person, Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party is displayed at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, USA.

4. The Umbrellas (1886)

The Umbrellas depicts an active Parisian street scene, with most people wearing umbrellas as protection from the rain.

The pigment analysis of this painting done by the scientists at the National Gallery in London showed that The Umbrellas was painted in two distinct phases. X-ray photography proves that the original clothing of one female figure on the painting was revised – from that which suggests she was middle class to that which depicts a woman of the working class based on her simpler clothes.

The painting was originally sold in 1892 to the French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who eventually sold it to Sir Hugh Lane. Lane died 1915, leaving The Umbrellas and other important artworks to the Tate Gallery in London.

The Umbrellas is currently on display at the National Gallery London.

5. Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876)

Deemed one of the most celebrated masterpieces of the Impressionist art movement, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (French: Bal du Moulin de la Galette) was painted by Renoir in 1876.

This artwork shows an ordinary Sunday afternoon, set in the original Moulin de la Galette in Paris’ Montmartre district, which was a very popular spot for the city’s working classes at the time. There they would have fun eating, drinking, and dancing in the evening.

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette is highly regarded for its monumental scale and distinctive style as well as its role as a symbol of the painter’s artistic aspiration. Many critics consider this painting as more than just Pierre-Augiste’s masterpiece but the Impressionist movement as a whole

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette is currently housed at the Musée d’Orsay in the French capital.

6. Lise with a Parasol (1867)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted Lise with a Parasol, Lise – La Femme à l’Ombrelle in French, back in his early Salon period in 1867.

Admired at the Paris Salon in 1868, Lise with a Parasol was Renoir’s first important critical achievement. Many of his paintings had been previously declined by the Salon before Lise with a Parasol was finally exhibited.

Lise Tréhot, who had been the artist’s companion for around five years, modeled for this painting as she had for at least twenty-two other Renoir paintings. Tréhot is depicted here as posing in a forest and holding a black parasol to shade her from the sunrays filtering down through the foliage.

Lise with a Parasol is displayed at the Museum Folkwang in Hagen, Germany.

7. The Large Bathers (1884 – 1887)

Currently housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the United States, The Large Bathers – or Les Grandes Baigneuses in French – is partly inspired by François Girardon’s 1672 sculpture called The Bath of the Nymphs.

The Large Bathers depicts five naked women bathing. Since it is in part inspired by a sculpture, the figures in this painting possess a sculptural trait. This was a new style employed by Renoir.

It took the painter three years to finish The Large Bathers – from 1884 until he was finally satisfied with the piece in 1887. When completed, the painting earned quite harsh criticism. This exhausted and disillusioned Renoir, hence he never painted in this style again.

8. Dance at Bougival (1883)

Depicting a pair of dancers in a vibrant café scene in Bougival, a French village some 15 kilometers from central Paris, Dance at Bougival (French: La Danse à Bougival) has been described as one of Pierre-August Renoir’s earliest reversions to a more classical painting style that he learned while working at the Louvre.

Renoir used pastel colors to paint Dance at Bougival, adding a more vivid shade in the hats worn by both models. It is said to be one the French painter’s last works in Impressionism. It shows his development from his older pieces.

Dance at Bougival is currently showcased at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where it is thought to be one of the most popular pieces.

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