Provenance
Lawson Valentine [1827-1891]; his wife, Lucy Houghton Valentine [1830-1911]; by inheritance to their daughter, Almira Houghton Valentine Pulsifer [Mrs. Nathan Trowbridge Pulsifer, 1854-1919], Manchester, Connecticut; her son, Harold Trowbridge Pulsifer [1886-1948], Harpswell and Brunswick, Maine; in trust to his wife, Susan Farley Nichols Pulsifer [1892-1987], New York; by descent to his niece, Alice Pulsifer Doyle [1916-1996];[1] Alice P. Doyle Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust; purchased March 1989 by Paul Mellon [1907-1999], Upperville, Virginia; bequest 1999 to NGA, with life interest to his wife, Rachel Lambert Mellon [1910-2014].
[1] Alice P. Doyle was the daughter of Harold T. Pulsifer's brother, Lawson Valentine Pulsifer (1881-1957).
Accession Number
2014.18.18
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
overall: 20.64 × 31.91 cm (8 1/8 × 12 9/16 in.) | framed: 28.58 × 39.37 × 3.81 cm (11 1/4 × 15 1/2 × 1 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting American
Background & Context
Background Story
Dance at Bougival, painted in 1883, is one of Renoir's most beloved works. It depicts a couple dancing at an open-air cafe in Bougival, west of Paris. The woman, face flushed and smiling, is caught in mid-turn; the man, his back to the viewer, holds her with familiar authority.
Bougival was a popular destination for Parisians seeking escape from the city. Its riverside cafes encapsulated the leisure culture of the Third Republic. The models were Renoir's friends: the woman is Suzanne Valadon, a model who would become a significant painter; the man is the journalist Paul Lhote.
The painting marks a turning point in Renoir's style. The loose brushwork of Impressionism gives way to more defined form and saturated color, representing his effort to ground chromatic freedom in the classical tradition of figure painting.
Cultural Impact
Renoir's dance paintings defined the image of Belle Epoque leisure that persists in the popular imagination. His celebration of physical pleasure established a tradition of joyous figurative painting that influenced every subsequent artist who believed beauty and happiness were legitimate subjects for serious art.
Why It Matters
Dance at Bougival captures Renoir's central gift: the ability to make happiness look effortless and profound. The dancing couple embody a vision of human life at its most beautiful.
