Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette by Renoir Coffee Mug

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (Bal du moulin de la Galette) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, oil on canvas 1876, is a painting of a large crowd dancing, eating and socialising in a large, outdoor dance garden on a pleasant, sunny day. The Moulin de la Galette was a famous windmill and surrounding businesses that was a social hub in the Montmartre district of Paris, where Renoir, many Impressionists and other avant-garde artists lived and worked. In the foreground a large group of Parisians eat and drink at tables and sit on benches, wearing elegant clothes, laughing and talking. Surrounding them is the large, outdoor dance floor, on which many couples dance under the trees and hanging lamps. The warm sunlight that breaks through the trees contrasts with the contrasting cool, blue tones of shadows. Painted quickly in fluid strokes of saturated oil colours, the picture captures a slice in time of a snapshot of real life in Paris. Renoir constructs a panoramic image of modern life that in its feeling for light, colour, atmosphere and human warmth became an icon of the French Impressionist movement and one of the most famous paintings in the history of art. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919) was a French painter and leading figure of the 19th century French Impressionist movement. As a boy Renoir painted designs on fine china and fans, and studied paintings in the Louvre, until he went to study art with Charles Gleyre in Paris, where he met Monet, Sisley and other members of the Impressionist group. Influenced by the Realism of Courbet and the painterly sense of light and colour of Monet and other plein-air painters, Renoir developed a softly painted style of vibrant light and saturated colour. Renoir painted many portraits and landscapes but concentrated on dazzling scenes of contemporary life which captured a momentary snapshot in time, while the influence of Titian, Rubens and the Rococo painters inspired his many figurative paintings and domestic scenes. Renoir married and had three children who became accomplished artists themselves, and in his older age continued to paint prolifically while partially disabled by severe arthritis. In 1919 Renoir became nearly the only living artist honoured by an exhibition in the Louvre alongside the works of the old masters. Renoir's fluid, masterful technique, unique sense of light and colour, warm sensuality and human empathy made him one of the most beloved and popular painters of all time.