TheOldMastersPrintsBal du moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir: meaning, location and key facts
Bal du moulin de la Galette is an oil on canvas by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painted in 1876. It measures 131 × 175 cm and is held at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
Key facts
| Artist | Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
|---|---|
| Date | 1876 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 131 × 175 cm (height × width) |
| Museum | Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
| Style | Impressionism |
| Data source | Wikidata (Q683274) · Wikipedia |
What it shows
A Sunday afternoon at the Moulin de la Galette, an open-air dance garden in Montmartre. Couples dance, young people chat in the foreground and sunlight filters through the trees, dappling clothes and faces.
Renoir painted much of it on the spot and asked his friends to pose among the crowd. It is one of the great Impressionist scenes of modern Parisian life, shown at the group’s third exhibition in 1877.
Did you know?
- Gustave Caillebotte, painter and patron, bought it and bequeathed it to the French state in 1894.
- A smaller version sold at auction in 1990 for 78.1 million dollars.
- Among the models are friends of the painter, such as the writer Georges Rivière, who published a defence of the painting in 1877.
Where to see the original
Bal du moulin de la Galette is at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Works are sometimes lent to exhibitions or taken down for restoration, so it is worth checking the museum’s website before you go.
Which print size to choose
The print keeps the proportions of the original: if they differ from the paper, the painting is centred with a white border and never cropped. More details in our size guide.
| A4 (21 × 29.7 cm) | shelves, desks and gallery walls |
|---|---|
| A3 (29.7 × 42 cm) | bedrooms, hallways and small walls |
| A2 (42 × 59.4 cm) | above a sideboard, chest of drawers or headboard |
Prints are made to order in the Czech Republic and reach the EU in 3 to 8 days, with no customs. Canvases are made in the USA and take about 2 to 3 weeks, with EU VAT included in the price.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Bal du moulin de la Galette?
- The original is held at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
- How big is Bal du moulin de la Galette?
- The original painting measures 131 × 175 cm (height × width).
- Who painted Bal du moulin de la Galette and when?
- It was painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876.
- Can I hang a reproduction of Bal du moulin de la Galette at home?
- Yes. The work is in the public domain, so it can be freely reproduced. We offer it as a matte print in A4, A3, A2 (from €18.99) and as a ready-to-hang canvas (from €54.99), with free shipping to the EU.
Updated 21 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Message us through the shop and we will fix it.
