Two Renoir exhibitions at Musée d’Orsay explore the joy of human connection

The Musée d’Orsay in Paris is opening two concurrent exhibitions dedicated to Pierre-Auguste Renoir, titled 'Renoir and Love: A Joyful Modernity (1865-85)' and 'Renoir Drawings'. The shows focus on the first two decades of his career, featuring major works like 'Luncheon of the Boating Party' and rarely seen pieces from private collections, such as 'Confidence'. The exhibitions will later travel to the National Gallery in London and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

This double bill aims to challenge reductive critiques of Renoir's work as merely saccharine by reframing him as a profound painter of modern life and human connection. Curator Paul Perrin argues that Renoir's focus on camaraderie, conversation, and fraternity—seen in scenes of leisure and social interaction—distinguishes his modernity from contemporaries like Manet and Degas. The exhibitions provide a rare opportunity to contextualize key holdings in three major museums and reassess the artist's early, foundational contributions to Impressionism.