Pierre Auguste Renoir, "La Loge", The Courtauld Gallery
Boxes at the theatre were popular subjects for Impressionist painters, allowing them to depict the fashions, gender wars and social issues of the day. The first artist to tackle them was Auguste Renoir, who painted his masterful “La Loge” in 1874. His image of an elegant couple at the theatre is the centrepiece of this exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery. His theme was picked up by Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt, both of whom are represented here. Illustrations from journals and newspapers of the time complement the paintings and offer a window onto 19th-century theatres, in which the audience was as much the focus as the action on the stage.
Listen to an interview with Professor John House of the Courtauld Gallery.
Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2. Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 0220. Tube: Embankment, Holborn, Temple. See also the gallery’s website.
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