Bal du Moulin de la Galette (Casas) facts for kids
Bal du Moulin de la Galette is a famous oil painting by the Spanish artist Ramon Casas. He painted it between 1890 and 1891. This artwork is kept safe at the Cau Ferrat Museum in Sitges, a town near Barcelona, Spain.
Contents
The Story Behind the Painting
Casas in Paris
Ramon Casas visited Paris, France, many times. In the winter of 1890, he was there for the third time. During this visit, he had a special art show with his friends, Santiago Rusiñol and Enric Clarasó. This exhibition lasted until 1892. Casas created many important and beautiful paintings during this time.
A Special Exhibition
In 1900, Casas had a big solo art show in Paris. His friend, Miquel Utrillo, helped organize it. Utrillo was also the director of an art magazine called Pel i Ploma. This exhibition showed many of Casas's best works. The painting Bal du Moulin de la Galette was a very important piece in this show.
What the Painting Shows
A Different View of the Moulin
The painting shows a famous dance hall in Paris called the Moulin de la Galette. Other famous artists, like Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, also painted this place. Renoir showed it as a lively and happy scene in 1876. Toulouse-Lautrec painted it in 1889, capturing its busy energy.
However, Ramon Casas chose to show a different side of the Moulin de la Galette. His painting looks sadder and darker.
The Mood of the Scene
Casas painted a wide view of the room. It looks dimly lit, meaning it's not very bright. You can see only two people dancing in the background. Other people are in the front, but they look uninterested. They seem to be just sitting there, not really enjoying themselves.
Casas used a cool, almost gray, color palette. He also used a lot of chiaroscuro. This is an art term for strong contrasts between light and dark. This style makes the painting feel a bit gloomy or serious. Casas wanted to show a more thoughtful and perhaps even pessimistic feeling in this artwork. This style was similar to the paintings his friend Rusiñol was creating at the time.
Images for kids
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