Collection/1800s

Bal du moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

A Sunday afternoon at an open-air dance hall in Montmartre. Renoir painted the young Parisians dancing, flirting and drinking under the trees, many of them his friends.

Look at the light: dappled sunlight comes through the leaves and falls in pale patches on jackets, hats and the ground. Renoir is said to have had the large canvas carried to the site every day to paint it.