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ID number:  BIRBI-59.9
Institution:  The Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Artist / Maker:  Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841-1919)
Title / Object name:  The dance in the country
Object type:  Print
Place made:  Europe: France, Île-de-France, Paris
Culture:  French
Date made:  about 1890
Materials:  Soft-ground etching
Measurements:  220 x 135 mm (plate); 325 x 252 mm (paper); 556 x 405 mm (mount)
Provenance:  Purchased from Craddock & Barnard, October 1959, for £12
BIRBI-59.9.jpg

A man and a woman move as one to the steps of a dance. Renoir evokes movement through the rapid lines of the background, glimpsed as a blur as the couple swirl. The swish of the coat and dress heighten the dizzying sense of movement. Although Renoir does not show the music’s source, his technique conjures the rhythm of the dance and the accompanying song. Dancing couples were a subject that fascinated Renoir; in 1883 alone he painted three full-length portraits of couples dancing, one of which (Dance at Bougival, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) was the basis for this etching.

1 Related People

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste
French
1841
1919
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