Renoir the draughtsman

While Renoir’s paintings remain among the icons of Impressionism, his works on paper (drawings, watercolours, pastels, etc.) have not received the same attention to date. It is true that his body of graphic work is small (Renoir undoubtedly destroyed many of his drawings) and heterogeneous, comprising sketches, studies for painted compositions, large tracings, watercolour ‘notations’ on the motif, genuine pastel portraits, signed, exhibited and sold to art dealers, projects for prints or illusions, etc.

However, drawing played a decisive role in the development of Renoir’s art, from his early student exercises in the 1850s and 1860s to his most modern explorations in the 1910s.

The exhibition, which will present around a hundred works from around the world, including previously unseen drawings and several paintings, is designed to offer an intimate insight into the artist’s creative process, focusing on his research into light, form and colour.

Location: Musée d’Orsay

Address: Esplanade Valéry Giscard d’Estain 75007 Paris

Date: 17 March 2026 to 5 July 2026

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9.30am to 6pm

Admission: €16

Transport: Metro line 12, Solférino station

RER C, Musée d’Orsay station

Bus 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 87, 94, Musée d’Orsay stations