Bal du Moulin de la Galette
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1876
Oil on canvas
Quick answer
Bal du Moulin de la Galette (1876) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is in Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Bal du Moulin de la Galette is an oil painting by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, completed in 1876. It depicts a Sunday afternoon at the open-air dance hall of the Moulin de la Galette in Montmartre, Paris, where working-class Parisians danced and socialised in the dappled sunlight. The painting is famous for its flickering light, joyful atmosphere, and the complexity of its crowd scene. It is displayed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. In 1990 it sold at auction for $78.1 million. World Museum Guide explains what you're looking at and how to see it.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Bal du Moulin de la Galette?
The large original version (131 × 175 cm) is on Level 2 of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. A smaller version that Renoir kept for himself sold at Sotheby's New York in 1990 for $78.1 million and is now in a private collection.
What does Bal du Moulin de la Galette show?
The painting shows a Sunday afternoon at the popular open-air dance hall at the Moulin de la Galette in Montmartre, Paris. Working-class and lower-middle-class Parisians dance, chat, and drink guinguette (a cheap local wine) in the dappled sunlight. The crowd is real: Renoir's friends and neighbours in Montmartre served as models for the figures.
How did Renoir paint the dappled light in Bal du Moulin de la Galette?
Renoir painted the sunlight filtering through acacia trees using short, broken brushstrokes of different colours placed side by side rather than blended. The patches of light on faces, shoulders, and the ground are painted in warm yellows and oranges; the shadows between them are in complementary purples and blues. Viewed at a distance, the colours 'mix' in the viewer's eye, creating the flickering sensation of natural light.
How much did Bal du Moulin de la Galette sell for?
A smaller version (the one Renoir kept for himself) sold at Sotheby's New York in May 1990 for $78.1 million — at the time the second highest price ever paid for a painting at auction, after van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet which sold for $82.5 million in the same auction season.
Can you visit the Moulin de la Galette in Montmartre today?
Yes — the Moulin de la Galette in Montmartre is now a restaurant (though a privately owned one). The historic windmill on the hill behind it still stands. Montmartre is a popular tourist area of Paris, easily reached by metro (Abbesses station, line 12) or the Montmartrobus. The area retains much of its late 19th-century character despite heavy tourist footfall.