Renoir’s paintings invite us to wander the bohemian lanes of Montmartre, delight in vivacious gatherings along the River Seine, and experience the joy of an open-air dance. Exploring a selection of works from the National Gallery’s fascinating Renoir and Love exhibition, we will discover his paintings achieve far more than charming evocations of 19th-century Paris. While his canvases exude warmth and lightheartedness, they also testify to his artistic ambitions. By taking everyday life as his subject and aligning himself with a group of experimental painters, we will discover how Renoir not only pioneered a revolutionary Impressionist technique that transformed modern art, but he also produced images that respond to a changing city.

Renoir and Love at The National Gallery (3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027) 

About the Speaker

Jo Rhymer has taught and programmed for numerous prestigiousmuseum and gallery learning departments and was formerly Head of Adult Learning Programmes at the National Gallery. She is a freelance lecturer and educator and teaches regularly for a range of institutions in the UK and abroad including the V&A Museum and the Wallace Collection; she is a Panel Tutor for The University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education and is an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society. Her art history specialisms are 19th- and early 20th-century French art, and she is interested in the skills associated with looking slowly at paintings. 

Bal du moulin de la Galette, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1876, oil on canvas