Renoir at the theatre : Looking at La Loge

Small exhibition at the Courtauld Institute focusing on Renoir’s ‘La Loge’ which they own.

The exhibition looks at the loge of box as a subject for painting in the 1870’s, which was a new subject looking at modern life. Up till then boxes had been used in caricatures and fashion plates and the exhibition looks at both of these. It also brought together paintings by the Impressionists of this subject four by Renoir, two by Cassatt and one by Degas.

The setting seems to give the opportunity to paint portraits of people, framed by the box and concentrating on what’s going on around them, seeing and being seen.

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