Une loge à l’Opéra, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. (Clark Art Institute)
Romance is always part of Paris, but this spring and summer it takes center stage with two major exhibitions dedicated to the beloved artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. From March through July, the Musée d’Orsay will host Renoir and Love: A Joyful Modernity (1865–1885) alongside a companion exhibition Renoir Drawings. For the first time since 1985, when the last major Renoir retrospective was held in Paris, many of the artist’s greatest masterpieces will be brought together in France.
Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. (Musée d’Orsay)
Renoir and Love – A Joyful Modernity (1865-1885)
Running from March 17 to July 19, 2026, Renoir and Love promises to be one of the top special exhibitions of the year in Paris. This retrospective will celebrate how affection, connection and human relationships shaped Renoir’s work during a defining period of his career. Bringing many key works together for the first time in decades, it will offer a new perspective on how Renoir approached love within the changing social life of late-19th-century Paris. If you’ve loved seeing Renoir’s paintings in the Musée d’Orsay in the past, you won’t want to miss this landmark exhibition!
Portrait de jeune fille, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Fondation Bemberg Toulouse)
Renoir Drawings
Opening on the same date and running through July 5, 2026, Renoir Drawings will be an intimate counterpoint to the main exhibition. This is the first show devoted entirely to Renoir’s works on paper, highlighting a less familiar aspect of his art. From quick studies of figures and gestures to more carefully developed compositions, these works reveal how closely Renoir observed the world around him and how deliberately his painted scenes were constructed. Seeing them together offers a deeper understanding of the foundations beneath his most beloved paintings.
Plan Now for Renoir in Paris … or London!
With the exhibitions opening in March, now is the moment to start planning. Early spring is one of Paris’s most beautiful seasons, with blossoms and the gardens beginning to bloom – a natural setting for Renoir’s work. Or plan ahead for a summer getaway in Paris, when longer days leave plenty of time for art and wandering along the Seine.
If Paris isn’t on the calendar this spring or summer, the story continues in London. Renoir and Love travels to the National Gallery from October 3, 2026 to January 31, 2027, for another chance to experience this exhibition in a different setting. Autumn and winter are ideal seasons for London’s museums, and with London Perfect it’s easy to plan an unforgettable stay!
