It depicts a scene in the French village of Bougival, about 15 km from the center of Paris, a site utilized by many Impressionists besides Renoir including Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Berthe Morisot.

The larger group of paintings to which this one belongs is described as Renoir's last foray in Impressionism, and demonstrates the development of his artistic ability from his earlier works.

However, Morgan Library and Museum director Colin Bailey believes the man may have been modeled by Hippolyte-Alphonse Fournaise, who appeared in Renoir's previous painting Luncheon of the Boating Party in front of his father's restaurant.

[7] If this theory is true, the integration of the two models to form the woman in the Dance at Bougival ties the series together in a succinct way.

He experimented on various fruits and vegetables, then moved to painting bodies, using the light in the foreground and the darkness in the background to illuminate his subjects.

[6] The two people are depicted in pastel colors, with the deep blue suit of the man contrasting the pale pink dress on the woman.

In his analysis of the painting, Colin Bailey writes "If these works may be said to bring Renoir's picturing of Parisian leisure to an end, their virtuosity and sureness of touch can be explained by his decade of immersion in the genre.

At the opening of that show, for which the painting had not quite arrived in time, Colin Bailey notes, "The Academy, London's foremost art journal, lamented the absence of this 'great and audacious masterpiece.

[6] Analysis has been done on the painting in recent years in an effort to understand how Renoir created this work and where he might have changed his mind along the way.

"[16] The analysis of these changes made by Renoir would not be possible without technological advancements that allow art historians to better understand the context in which artists worked.