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Au Moulin de la Galette

Ramon Casas, 1892

Ramon Casas painted Au Moulin de la Galette in Paris in 1892. It shows a red-haired young woman sitting alone at a small table at the edge of a busy Montmartre venue. The oil on canvas measures 117 by 90 cm and belongs to the Museum of Montserrat.

Where to see it

Au Moulin de la Galette is in the collection of the Museum of Montserrat, which is also listed as its location. Works in museum collections can be rehung, rotated or lent, so check the Museum of Montserrat's official website for the painting's current display status before you visit.

What to look for in person

Colour against a pale ground

Much of the canvas is light. The woman wears a white skirt and sits in front of a white wall. Against that pale setting, a few passages of strong colour stand out: her red hair, her blouse and the drink beside her. In front of the painting, notice where these accents fall. They gather around her head, upper body and the table, so your eye goes to her first. The rest of the composition stays comparatively quiet.

The crowd seen in a mirror

Look past the sitter to the mirror on the wall behind her. The busy activity of the café appears there as a reflection rather than as the main scene. The woman herself is placed at the edge of the venue, alone at a small table. Take time to compare the crowded reflected space with her stillness in the foreground. The contrast between the lively room and the solitary figure shapes how the picture reads, and it rewards a slow look.

The sitter and her gesture

The model was Madeleine de Boisguillaume (1873-1944), a young aspiring stage actress who posed for Casas in the early 1890s. Because of her, the painting is also known as 'La Madeleine', and also by a title that pairs her name with the Moulin de la Galette. Look closely at her right hand, which holds a cigar. This small detail adds to the sense of an independent young woman out on her own in a Paris nightspot.

About the painting

Ramon Casas made Au Moulin de la Galette in Paris in 1892. The setting is the nightspot by the Moulin de la Galette in Montmartre, and the subject is a single female visitor rather than the crowd. Casas painted it in oil on canvas at 117 by 90 cm. The upright format gives the seated figure room and keeps attention on her instead of on a broad view of the venue. The painting is a study of one person in a public place. She sits at a small table on the margin of the room, with a white wall behind her and a mirror that holds the busy café in reflection. Her red hair, her strongly coloured blouse and her drink stand out against her white skirt and the pale wall. The cigar in her right hand is a pointed detail. The sitter has been identified as Madeleine de Boisguillaume (1873-1944), a young woman hoping for a career on the stage who modelled for Casas in the early 1890s. Her presence explains the painting's alternative titles, including 'La Madeleine'. Casas came back to the theme ten years later. In 1902 he painted a second version at the same location, again showing a woman sitting alone at a table. Visitors who know both works can compare how he handled the motif of a solitary figure in a crowded entertainment venue. Today the 1892 canvas belongs to the Museum of Montserrat. If you plan a visit specifically to see it, confirm on the museum's official website that it is currently on view.

Key facts

Sources

• Wikidata Q8208907
• Wikipedia (fr) (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Wikipedia (nl) (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Wikipedia (es) (CC BY-SA 4.0)