What is Bal du moulin de la Galette?
{{italictitle}} [[File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Le Moulin de la Galette.jpg|thumb|300px|''Bal du moulin de la Galette'', 1876]] '''''Bal du moulin de la Galette''''' ({{lang-en|Dance at Le moulin de la Galette}}) (1876) is a painting by [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]]. It is in the [[Musée d'Orsay]] in [[Paris]]. The painting depicts a typical [[Sunday]] [[afternoon]] at [[Moulin de la Galette]] in the [[district]] of [[Montmartre]]. In the late 19th century, working class Parisians would dress up and spend time there dancing, drinking, and eating [[galette]]s into the evening. ''Bal du moulin de la Galette'' is a typical Impressionist snapshot of real life. It shows a richness of form, a fluidity of brush stroke, and a flickering light. The French painter [[Gustave Caillebotte]] owned the painting for about 20 years. When he died it became the property of the French Republic. From 1896 to 1929 the painting hung in the [[Musée du Luxembourg]]. From 1929 it hung in the [[Musée du Louvre]]. It was sent to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986. Renoir painted a smaller version of the picture with the same title. This painting is in a private collection. For many years it was owned by [[John Hay Whitney]]. On May 17, 1990, his widow sold it for US$78 million at [[Sotheby's]] in [[New York City]]. It was one of the most expensive artworks ever sold. == Other websites == *[http://www.top10land.com/top-ten-most-expensive-paintings-sold-at-auction.html Top Ten Most Expensive Paintings Sold At Auction] *[http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/index-of-works/notice.html?no_cache=1&nnumid=497 Details], [[Musée d'Orsay]] {{in lang|fr}} [[Category:1870s paintings]] [[Category:Paintings in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris]] [[Category:French paintings]] [[Category:Impressionism]]