The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 1876 painting The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette is set in the northern outskirts of Paris, where the hilly district of Montmartre remained partly rural through the later decades of the 19th century. Old windmills dotted the landscape, and the Moulin de la Galette, a lively beer garden, attracted young clientele. In The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette's view of the café, Pierre-Auguste Renoir expresses the sensuous pleasure of drinking, dancing, and flirtation in the open air, with sunlight filtering through the trees on a warm summer day.

The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (oil on canvas, 51-1/2x69 inches) hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

In paintings such as The Ball at the Moulin de Galette, Renoir established himself as a master of color. On the next page we'll find another example of this brilliant use of color.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

• Impressionism
• Vincent van Gogh
• Claude Monet