Dance at Bougival 1883 By Pierre Auguste Renoir

Dance at Bougival 1883 by Pierre Auguste-Renoir

Pierre Auguste Renoir was a leading French Impressionist artist who created many famous paintings during his long and successful career. His paintings include several portraits of dancing couples, including Dance at Bougival, one of our popular oil painting reproductions. 

When was Dance at Bougival painted?

Painted in 1883, Pierre Renoir's painting Dance at Bougival shows two dancers sharing a moment in time. Renoir's oil on canvas art reproduction is full of motion and light, with a background of lively al fresco café patrons. The female dancer's pink dress swirls around her feet while the man gazes lovingly.

Although Renoir often used pastel colors, this particular painting is unusual as it includes a woman in a bright red hat. The same hat also appears in another Renoir painting, Dance in the Country, 1883. 

Some art scholars believe the dancing couple are Renoir’s friends, Paul Lhote and Suzanne Valadon. However, others believe the man could be Hippolyte-Alphonse Fournaise, the artist's close friend and restaurant owner. Hippolyte-Alphonse Fournaise also appears in Renoir's painting The Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1881.

Where did Pierre-Auguste Renoir paint Dance at Bougival?

Renoir's famous paintings depict dancers at a gathering in the village of Bougival, just 15 kilometers outside Paris. Many other Impressionist artists have used this charming riverside location in their paintings. 

The town of Bougival has also inspired Impressionist paintings by artists Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley. For example, oil paintings such as Pissarro’s The Seine at Bougival, Monet’s The Bridge at Bougival, and Berthe Morisot’s The Quay at Bougival. 

Today, the village of Bougival has an “Impressionists Walk” where tourists can visit the locations of many of these famous paintings. While most Art Historians cite Bougival as the correct location, there is some disagreement. Paul Lhote describes an exceptionally similar scene in his diary of a dance in Montmartre in Paris, casting doubt on the painting’s origins.

Is Pierre Auguste Renoir art Impressionist Oil Painting?

Dance at Bougival is one of Renoir’s last Impressionist paintings. He moved to a more classical and conservative approach, abandoning the fleeting effects of light and expressive brushstrokes that characterize the Impressionist art movement. 

Nonetheless, Renoir's colorful painting retains the Impressionist’s bright color palette with a modern sense of light and movement. This painting combines his interest in formal composition, inspired by famous paintings of the Italian Old Masters, and the Impressionist artist's brushstrokes and scenes of contemporary life. 

Dance at Bougival is an Impressionist painting. Renoir only produced a few sketches for his famous painting, arranging his models “en plein air” before starting work on the canvas.

Where is the original Dance at Bougival oil painting?

Pierre Renoir's original painting now hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA. It is one of the 100 most famous paintings of all time. 

The museum purchased the painting in April 1937 for $150,000, describing Dance at Bougival as one of its most “beloved works.” 

Renoir painted several famous dance paintings during his career. The artist created three oil paintings for the legendary art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. In addition to Dance at Bougival, Renoir's Dance in the City and Dance in the Country painting are two very similar artworks.

All three paintings share a similar color palette and depict a couple dancing in public. The women wear pale dresses in all three famous paintings, while the men don dark blue or black suits, often with their faces partly obscured. 

Renoir completed all three famous Dance paintings between January and April 1883. Each of these popular paintings combines the characteristics of outdoor scenes and the artist's love of portraiture.

Intriguingly, each portrait painting also depicts a different class of French society. For example, Dance in the City represents a formal ball attended by the upper classes. Renoir's Dance at Bougival painting is a more informal outdoor affair, while his Dance in the Country oil painting reveals a simple rural dance.

Buy Famous Oil Paintings by Pierre Auguste-Renoir

Please browse our catalog of fine art reproductions of popular paintings by French Impressionist artists and buy the perfect high-quality art reproduction for your home or office. 

Why buy a print when you can own a hand-painted oil on canvas created especially for you by one of our resident professional artists? Your reproduction painting will be faithful to Renoir's original oil paintings with the same color palette and detailed brushstrokes.