Painting and Sculpture

La Loge

La Loge ('The Theatre Box') is an 1874 oil painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is part of the collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. The painting depicts a young couple in a box at the Paris theatre. The woman was modeled by Nini Lopez, Renoir's new model who would feature in fourteen of his paintings over the next few years. The man in the painting was his brother Edmond, a journalist and art critic. Renoir's La Loge reflects an emerging interest in the "Theatre Box" as a new subject in during this time period. Going to the theatre in nineteenth-century France was as much about being seen as watching the performance. While the woman is making her presence obvious, her companion is scanning the audience through his opera-glasses. This work encompasses the rising emphasis in fashion in art and its implications on social standing and wealth, while also embodying Renoir's aspirations and longing for the upper class's splendor.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Boys Drawing
• ▸Durrington Walls
• ▸Paintings of Children (Van Gogh series)

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