Renoir: 100+ Drawings
Musée d’Orsay opened a landmark double show focused on Pierre‑Auguste Renoir—one gallery of his earliest paintings and a separate exhibition of over 100 drawings, many never before shown in public. Reviews praise the intimate curation and the spotlight on drawing as central to Renoir’s process this spring. (observatoiredeleurope.com) (pariscapitale.com)
The Musée d’Orsay is running two linked Renoir presentations this spring: "Renoir and Love: A Joyful Modernity (1865–1885)" (March 17–July 19, 2026) and "Renoir Dessinateur" (March 17–July 5, 2026). (musee-orsay.fr) The drawings component opened first at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York from October 17, 2025, to February 8, 2026, and then traveled to Paris as a co‑organized show. (themorgan.org) The Morgan exhibition was organized by Colin B. Bailey with research associate Sarah Lees, while the Musée d’Orsay’s major painting retrospective is directed by Paul Perrin with collaborators from the National Gallery (Christopher Riopelle) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Katie Hanson). (themorgan.org) Musée d’Orsay publicity and labels draw attention to specific techniques on display, noting Renoir’s growing preference for sanguine from the 1880s alongside works in graphite, Conté, charcoal, pen and ink, pastel, watercolor and gouache. (musee-orsay.fr) The painting show places Le Bal du moulin de la Galette at its center for the 150th anniversary of the work and lists high‑profile loans such as Le Déjeuner des Canotiers from the Phillips Collection, with the Paris exhibitions scheduled to travel to London and Boston afterwards. (presse-orsay-orangerie.epmo-musees.fr) Organizers describe the drawings project as the first major, in‑depth exhibition of Renoir’s works on paper in roughly a century, reviving a field last explored in notable shows dating back to 1921. (themorgan.org) Early coverage in The Art Newspaper and French outlets highlighted the compact, intimate hang and the curatorial choice to show small‑scale works alongside landmark canvases as key moves that reframe Renoir’s practice. (theartnewspaper.com)
