Renoir and Love Review: A Joyful Exhibition Reminding Us Of Life’s Pleasures

Attending the press view of Renoir and Love on Wednesday 30th of September at the National Gallery in London, along with my mum as my guest: the woman who first introduced me to the Impressionists at 11 (I would fill Impressionist-themed diaries with banal entries of the subjects I’d studied at school that day and lists of boys in my class I had crushes on), was as joyful an experience as its artist, no doubt, and certainly the curators of the exhibition, could have hoped for.

Mum and I were both moved to tears by the sheer scale of his work and the impact of seeing such agonizingly beautiful pieces face-to face after so many decades of admiring them as prints (and of course, diaries, in my case). 

Can you be starstruck by art? Mais, oui. 

The exhibition marks the first time these particular Renoir masterpieces can be viewed together, as the 1876 Bal au Moulin de la Galette (Dance at the Moulin de la Galette) has never been exhibitied on British soil before.

Spanning 6 rooms, you feel priviledged to witness 2 decades of Renoir’s work starting with his self-portrait above (1875) and working (whilst walking) through the evolution of his craft/ life from the ages of 25 to 46-he lived and continued to paint until his death at 78.

Renoir and Love celebrates what Renoir is famous for: his conscious decision to focus on life’s pleasures, vividly capturing how people connect with one another, the way they love, dance, relax, date and dine together, storytelling as emotively and with as much attention to detail as a photographer or filmmaker would go on to do, in a way no other artist of the 19th century, achieved, in my opinion, because he captured the essense and goal of living a good life. 

I’m certain you know his history but in case… Along with his peers, Renoir pioneered the Impressionist movement in Paris after being rejected by the prestigious government-funded Paris Salon. Using bold, bright and fluid brushstrokes depicting modern life, usually with ‘plein-air painting’ (outside) thanks to new pre-mixed paints available to him at the time, he and his fellow Impressionists, Renoir, Monet, Sisley, Pisarro, Degas and others, were revolutionary in both their style and subject matter, at a time when dark, photo realist historical and mythical art was favoured. Tired of relying on the conservative Salon, Renoir et al, took matters into their own hands forming their own independent collective of 30 artists, launching the first independent Impressionist exhibition in 1874.

Often relegated, unfairly, as less serious and more kitsch than his peers, Renoir, was the master of capturing joie de vivre, the ‘joy of living’, representing the working and middle classes of Paris on their weekends/time off, somewhat rebelliously (he and them) in relishing life despite the economic hardships of that period. It was a world he knew well, because it was his. 

He was the most prominent working class painter of the Impressionists, decorating porcelain in a factory as a teenager before training as an artist. His intention was to focus on his community enjoying life, despite living against the backdrop and fallout of the Franco-Prussian war from 1870-1871. 

Renoir seems to be sharing what we modern social media users now commonly refer to as ‘glimmers’: small, everyday micro-moments that spark a sudden sense of joy, peace, safety, or connection.

We are however, reminded of how brutal a time he was living in, with his portrait of close friend and fellow Impressionist Frédéric Bazille (title is the same, 1867), who later died in battle.

As a former filmmaker I’m most taken with how he positioned the viewer in order to make them feel part of his work. Placing us so closely to his scenes, to the point we almost appropriate his place, or POV, was groundbreaking.

He even depicted the viewer’s seat within some of his work: a ‘gap’/ voyeuristic spot just for you, so you could metaphorically pull up a chair and hone into his Mise-en-scènes’ and the people within them, who were usually his own friends/ fellow artists and loved ones (hence the exhibition title), and of course another layer of intimacy. 

He wanted his work to live and breathe, and for you to immerse yourself completely in it. 

In The Pont des Arts, Paris (1867-68) for example, we are placed on the left side of The Seine, (The Louvre, who had rejected Renoir’s work and thus was intentionally omitted from view) is full of life and movement.

Renoir is painstakingly diligent in representing the crowds gathered, even including the shadows of those above him, on the bridge, in motion below. The swirling fluffiness of the clouds; the shimmering water and the way the light dances on the ground provides a scene you can feel and almost touch! You are with him, looking outwards.

Can you spot the seat left for you in Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (1876) too?

We are there, by his side.

Intimate scenes, with you in an intimate position, close to the action.

And with mesmerisingly beautiful subjects to gaze upon.  

His joy-seeking subjects could be drinking, dancing or even arguing in some cases (if you look closely enough) as in Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (1876) or perhaps you might find them deep in discussion after breaking bread together (Renoir famously painted the moments after the meal when the wine was flowing and the chatter had become more free) as in Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise-The Rowers’ Lunch (1875) …

He also cleverly caught your attention by often painting at least one person (or animal) who would be looking directly at you, as with Mother Antony’s Tavern (1866)-he painted this at just 25-, where under the tavern’s table, a fluffy poodle, Toto, sits, staring at you with great intent/possible hunger, as Renoir’s friends Jules Le Coeur, (assumed) Henry Bos and Alfred Sisley sit, relaxed, post-meal, drinking around a table.

Ditto as you find yourself in a crowd on a wet, Parisian street, his female protagonist’s deep brown eyes returning your gaze, soft and soulful, in The Umbrellas (1881-6).

He effortlessly transports you into a moment, pulling you into his work.

The mood might be romantic, maternal or brotherly. A bouquet of roses sit on a chair at the opera in Bouquet dans une loge (1880) left ambigiously for you to decide what the story might be, or obvious: carefree folk  simply enjoying the River Seine (La Grenouillère, 1869)… Whatever his goal, his work never fails to offer clues and a promise of what is to follow.

 

We observe straw boaters strewn across the floor and tobacco ends and pipes beside the feet of dancers, lost in their close embrace-with both Dance at Bougival (1883) and Dance in the Country (1883) or couples courting, holding hands on a path in woodland as in La Promenade (1870) with his intention being: what you see here, is what is most important in life: communication, flirtation and fun and not only does it deserve documenting but it deserves experiencing.

So go, allez, seek out joy!

These pieces are the earliest form of moving image/cinema as far as I’m concerned. 

When Renoir later pivoted from Impressionism, after being inspired by his time in Italy and the great Raphael’s work, we are faced with an abrupt change in style with the finale of the exhibition, and the rather self-indulgent decorative piece, The Great Bathers (1884-87).

An important inclusion here, and on retrospect, an inevitable full stop after the subtle changes of work in the adjacent rooms, where we see a greater emphasis on portraiture and a paler palette as the years progressed. 

It is also a reminder that art is subjective.

A relationship between the artist, the work and the one who views it.

Picasso adored his new style. The critics of the time, et moi, less so.

After the expressive movement in the work he became most famous for, The Great Bathers to me, at any least, feels flat and surface-level in comparison.  

I fell in love with his formative work, the fluidity of the dancers; his centring of women as equals, as in Luncheon le dejeuner (1875) above, the love he so deeply felt for his children and the respect for motherhood it clearly stirred in him as depicted in Young Mother (1881)-posed for by models, and Motherhood (1885), of his wife Aline Charigot breastfeeding their first son, Pierre. 

Irrespective of his artistic twists and ultimate u-turn, both subtle and less so with the latter part of his life, as other artists’ work and his own travels impressed upon him, what remains is his enduring love of his craft. 

Renoir famously said he painted because it pleased him, and that to me, feels worthy enough.

To start there and perhaps end there.

Political messages in film and art are often critical and neccessary but there should also be a place for creating purely because you love doing so, the way the paint feels on the canvas, the act of giving life to the vision you have, and of course the tenacity it takes to perservere and finish a piece (never easy as every creative can attest). And of course, with the sole goal being to simply entertain others and ellicit joy. 

Renoir is quoted as saying, “To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them.”

Even towards the end of his life, struggling with severe rheumatoid arthritis, he continued to paint, no doubt, because the elation it brought him outweighed the pain. A lesson in doing what you love.

I used to paint, and even exhibited many moons ago, and Renoir and Love has encouraged me to do some joy-seeking for myself, starting with an art class next month where I will be picking up my oil paints again. Fittingly, just for the love of it.

Renoir and Love opens on October the 3rd 2026 and is on until January 31st 2027. Book here.

Disclaimer: we received complimentary press tickets and lunch.

We bought prints, books, totes, culinary treats, and other delightful gifts from the Renoir pop-up shop above.