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Overview
One of the greatest masters of French Impressionism who remains best-known for his paintings, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) created slightly over fifty original etchings or lithographs during his lifetime. His first original graphic work of art was created in 1890 and, during the following ten years, he was encouraged to produce more etchings and lithographs by his friends, such as the etcher Roux-Champion and the publisher Ambrose Vollard. The themes of Renoir's prints are very much akin to those of his paintings; scenes of people he admired, children, bathers, nudes and dancers (as here), all examined in the ever-changing light of the moment.
The theme of dancing couples first attracted Renoir in 1882 and his painting, Dance in the Country, paired with the more Tissot-like Dance in the City are popular favourites in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. This later etching (one of his first in the medium) relates most closely, however, to the equally loved Dance at Bougival (MFA, Boston). Bougival was a popular resort on the Seine, where young people gathered on Sundays for dancing, boating and other country amusements. The couple in this etching have been identified as Renoir’s brother Edmond and the artist Suzanne Valadon, who was also one half of Dance in the City. Note Edmond's flared coat and Suzanne's sweeping dress as they are caught in mid-movement. While an etching like this has nothing of the printmaker's finesse of Renoir's specialist contemporaries such as Buhot and Legros, it is in constant demand from non-specialists wishing to have their 'entry level' Renoir which certainly retains some of the qualities that are so popular in his paintings.
See:
Busacca Gallery, http://www.busaccagallery.com/catalog.php?catid=117&itemid=4023#\
The New Art Gallery Walsall, http://thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk/item/la-danse-a-la-campagne-the-country-dance/
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art May 2018