This is London Magazine September Edition 2026 - Flipbook - Page 8
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TWO PAINTINGS, TWO FRIENDS
Ahead of the National Gallery’s major
autumn exhibition (3 October to
31 January), visitors are invited to an
exciting sneak preview through the
reunion of two of Impressionism's most
celebrated paintings.
For a limited period, Claude Monet's
and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's La
Grenouillère (1869) will be displayed
together at the Gallery for the first time
in nineteen years. Painted side by side
from almost exactly the same viewpoint,
the works capture a defining moment in
the birth of Impressionism, offering a
first glimpse into the artistic friendships,
emotional storytelling and spirit of
experimentation that will be explored
throughout Renoir and Love.
The display will remain on view until
mid-September, before Renoir's painting
is incorporated into the exhibition
installation. The reunion of the two
paintings has been made possible
thanks to the generous loan of Renoir's
painting from National Museum,
Stockholm.
During the summer of 1869, Monet
and Renoir – then young, ambitious
artists and close friends – travelled to
La Grenouillère, a fashionable riverside
resort on the banks of the Seine just
outside Paris. Popular with Parisian
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, La Grenouillère, 1869 © On loan from Nationalmuseum,
Stockholm. Gift 1924 unknown donor through Nationalmusei Vänner.
society, the floating restaurant, bathing
spot and boating destination provided
the perfect setting for the pair to
experiment with painting modern life.
Working en plein air (outside), the
artists set up their easels shoulder to
shoulder, and each painted the same
lively scene from virtually the same
position. Together they created six
paintings of La Grenouillère, united in
their bold brushwork, bright colour and
contemporary subject matter.
Although they painted the same
scene, the two artists reveal remarkably
different approaches.
Monet, who would become one of the
greatest landscape painters of his
generation, was captivated by the
changing effects of light on water. His
composition is simplified through broad,
fragmented brushstrokes and broken
colour, conveying the shimmering
reflections of the Seine with twinkly magic.
Renoir, however, was drawn to
people. His shorter, vibrant brushstrokes
and softer palette create a flickering,
sunlit atmosphere, while his attention
focuses on the fashionable visitors
gathered on the small island in the
centre of the canvas.
The reunion of these two celebrated
paintings offers visitors a rare
opportunity to compare the artists'
individual styles.
Left: Claude Monet, Bathers at
La Grenouillère, 1869 © The National
Gallery, London. Bequeathed by Mrs
M.S. Walzer as part of the Richard and
Sophie Walzer Bequest, 1979.
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