The Swing

Renoir made this picture the same year he created his best famous work, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette. Renoir was renting a home in the gardens of the Musée de Montmartre in order to be close to Moulin de la Galette, an open-air dance hall, and café. During his time there, he worked on The Swing in the mornings.

Renoir was known for capturing real-life social settings, and this image is no exception. Another example of Renoir's work is in which he employs brushstrokes to highlight sunlight and shadows in a natural scene.

The painting depicts a woman on a swing conversing with a man while a young girl and another male look on. The figure in the front is French actress Jeanne Samary, who appeared in several other Renoir works, including Luncheon of the Boating Party. Renoir's brother Edmond and a painter friend named Norbert Goeneutte are the two men in the painting. The Swing was designed in the Impressionist style and displayed in the Third Impressionist Exhibition in 1877.

Year: 1876
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 92 cm × 73 cm (36.2 in × 28.7 in)
Location: Musée d’Orsay, Paris