These are the 12 most famous paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, an artist who was born in France in 1841. He was an important person in the Impressionist movement. Mostly his famous paintings were portraits and landscapes. From the Impressionist style, he moved on to the Renaissance style in the middle of his career. This allowed him to bring more line and composition to his work, making him one of the top artists of his time.
Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876)
This is probably number one out of all of the famous paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It depicts a well-known Parisian lifestyle on a Sunday afternoon, when working-class Parisians dress up and spend the afternoon dancing, drinking, and eating. “Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette” is also known as “Bal du Moulin de la Galette.” It’s a stunning example of Renoir’s ability to capture the dappled light created by sunshine reflected through tree leaves.
Two Sisters On the Terrace (1881)
This painting is of the brilliance of a stunning young woman on a warm and beautiful day. She looks away from her younger friend, who appears to have just raced into the scene in a lovely visual conceit. Renoir placed solid, almost life-size characters in a scene that, like a stage set, appears to be a realm of pure vision and fantasy. This is also one of the most famous paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Girls at the Piano (1892)
This painting depicts two sisters playing music together in their spare time. They seem to be reading the lyrics together before deciding how to put the song together. It’s a classical work of art, both in subject and style. More than any other member of the Impressionist movement, Renoir would prove to be a controversial figure in this regard.
Portrait of Alfred Sisley (1868)
This painting is of a loving gesture between two people. The excellent depiction of the expensive silk fabric dominates the image with its red and gold stripes and is plain of the highest quality. The background is blurred to keep the attention on the main subject which is the couple.
Portrait of Claude Monet (1875)
This painting depicts Monet working on his own painting while dressed in his working clothes and holding his color palette and paintbrushes. Monet appears to be motionless for a brief moment as if he is about to move and return to his painting. The jagged, repetitive brushstrokes effectively portray the transient aspect of the sunshine flowing through the window, which exemplifies the Impressionist movement’s skills.
A Girl with a Watering Can (1876)
This painting is of a young girl standing on a pathway in a fully blooming garden, carrying a small watering can in her right hand and some flowers in her left. The girl in the garden appears to be joyful and innocent, appealing to the viewer’s emotions and imagination. This painting has a mature impressionistic style to it.
Mme. Charpentier and her children (1878)
This is a painting of Madame Charpentier with her two children in an intimate scene within the family’s magnificent Parisian townhouse. Renoir’s palette is rich, and his brushwork is strong, with its powerful diagonals, which welcome the observer into a private place. The dress codes that indicate gender are related to culture as well as a certain moment and location in history.
Dance at Bougival (1882–1883)
This is a painting of Suzanne Valadon and Paul Auguste Llhote, two of Renoir’s friends. These were people he cared about and whose modest pleasures he shared without hesitation. Renoir’s first reversion to a more classical manner of painting, which he learned from imitating paintings in the Louvre while preserving the bright palette of his fellow Impressionists, is presented in this work. This, along with it’s sister paintings Dance in the Country and Dance in the City are among the famous paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Dance in the Country (1883)
This is a painting of Renoir’s close friend, Paul Lhôte, with his future wife, Mme. Aline Renoir, dancing under a chestnut tree. Renoir painted these loving dancing couples using a new method with more accurate shapes and a more limited palette. Raphael’s stylistic influence is long thought to be present in this painting.
Dance in the City (1883)
This is a painting of an elegant Parisienne who waltzes with her dance partner at a winter party. “Dance In The City” is one of a series of three paintings that depict an intimate and carefully observed moment (the others are Dance In The Country and Dance At Bougival). The couple’s feelings are more restrained in “Dance In The City” than in the other two paintings.
The Large Bathers (1887)
This painting is of a short moment when one of the bathers threatens to splash a companion, who has an everlasting, monumental sense about it. The characters’ sculptural portrayal against a shimmering background, as well as the precise application of dried paint, are reminiscent of 17th and 18th-century French art.
Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880–1881)
By far one of the most famous paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party is a painting of a group of people having lunch on the bright balcony of the Maison Fournaise, a restaurant, rowboat rental establishment, and hotel on the banks of the Îsle de Chatou. It’s one of Renoir’s biggest artworks. Renoir’s three characteristic subjects: portraits, still-life portrayals, and en Plein air settings are all represented in this artwork.
What famous paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir do you think we should add to this list? Comment below.