Bal du Moulin de la Galette is a 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
It is on display at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of the most famous masterpieces of Impressionism. The painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at the Moulin de la Galette, in the Montmartre district of Paris. Towards the end of the 19th century, Parisians of the working class disguised themselves and spent time dancing, drinking and eating Galette (= a type of pancake, but much better) in the evening.
Like other works of Renoir, Bal du Moulin de la Galette takes a typically impressionistic look at real life. It shows a richness in form, a fluidity in the brushstroke, and a flickering light.
From 1879 to 1894, the painting is part of the collection of the French painter Gustave Caillebotte. When he dies, he becomes the property of the French Republic, as a means of payment for the inheritance tax. From 1896 to 1929, the painting hangs in the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. From 1929, it is exposed Louvre Museum, until it is transferred to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.
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Renoir painted a reduced version of the painting (78 × 114 cm) with the same title. This painting is kept in a private collection.
For many years, he is in the possession of John Hay Whitney. On May 17, 1990, his widow sold the painting for 78 million US dollars to Ryoei Saito, the honorary president of the paper manufacturing company Daishowa, Japan.
At the time of the sale, this painting is one of the two most expensive works of art ever sold, with "Portrait of Van Gogh" by Dr. Gachet, which was also purchased by Saito. Saito provokes international outrage when he suggests, in 1991, that he intends to cremate the two paintings with him upon his death. However, when Saito and his businesses are in serious financial trouble, the bankers who held the painting as collateral for the loans are holding a confidential sale by Sotheby's to an unknown buyer. Although it is not certain, the painting would supposedly be in the collection of a Swiss collector.
