Famous Paintings of Groups and Gatherings

Parties, dances, fairs and crowds: painting at its most sociable.

118 paintings, with works by Edgar Degas, Peter Paul Rubens, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Corot. Most often they suit the dining room, kids' room and living room.

Showing 1 to 48 of 118 paintings

The Dance Class, Edgar Degas, 1874, oil on canvas

Edgar Degas The Dance Class, 1874 The Met

From low on a hillside, we look up at a light-skinned woman and boy standing in tall grass against a sunny blue sky in this vertical painting.

Claude Monet Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875 National Gallery of Art

Close to us, a young man and three boys sit or recline in a small sailboat that tips to our left on a choppy dark green sea in this horizontal painting.

Winslow Homer Breezing Up (A Fair Wind), 1873-1876 National Gallery of Art

We look slightly down into a lime-green and white rowboat carrying a woman holding a baby and a man in this nearly square painting. The man wears midnight-blue shoes, pants, jacket, and soft, floppy cap.

Mary Cassatt The Boating Party, 1893/1894 National Gallery of Art

View of Delphi with a Procession, Claude Lorrain, 1673, oil on canvas

Claude Lorrain View of Delphi with a Procession, 1673 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting, heavy in tones of blue-green and burnt orange, depicting a bar scene at night. The men wear top hats and many are bearded; the women are dressed in voluminous gowns and decorative hats.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec At the Moulin Rouge, 1892–95 Art Institute of Chicago

Merrymakers at Shrovetide, Frans Hals, ca. 1616–17, oil on canvas

Frans Hals Merrymakers at Shrovetide, ca. 1616–17 The Met

Rubens, Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Frans (1633–1678), Peter Paul Rubens, ca. 1635, oil on wood

Peter Paul Rubens Rubens, Helena Fourment (1614–1673), and Their Son Frans (1633–1678), ca. 1635 The Met

The Holy Family on the Steps, Nicolas Poussin, 1648, oil on canvas

Nicolas Poussin The Holy Family on the Steps, 1648 Cleveland Museum of Art

Large painting of Holy Family: Mary in red, holding baby Jesus.

Peter Paul Rubens The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist, c. 1615 Art Institute of Chicago

The Horse Fair, Rosa Bonheur, 1852–55, oil on canvas

Rosa Bonheur The Horse Fair, 1852–55 The Met

Merry Company on a Terrace, Jan Steen, ca. 1670, oil on canvas

Jan Steen Merry Company on a Terrace, ca. 1670 The Met

Large painting, woman in pink dress in front of classical sculpture, shrine.

Joshua Reynolds Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces, 1763–65 Art Institute of Chicago

The Adoration of the Shepherds, Andrea Mantegna, shortly after 1450, tempera on canvas, transferred from wood

Andrea Mantegna The Adoration of the Shepherds, shortly after 1450 The Met

The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Catherine of Alexandria, Jusepe de Ribera, 1648, oil on canvas

Jusepe de Ribera The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Catherine of Alexandria, 1648 The Met

Long scroll ink painting depicting people with their animals and belongings crossing a river.

Unknown artist Yang Pu Moving His Family, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) 元朝 Art Institute of Chicago

The Dutton Family in the Drawing Room of Sherborne Park, Gloucestershire, Johann Zoffany, c. 1772, oil on canvas

Johann Zoffany The Dutton Family in the Drawing Room of Sherborne Park, Gloucestershire, c. 1772 Cleveland Museum of Art

Dance in a Subterranean Roundhouse at Clear Lake, California, Jules Tavernier, 1878, oil on canvas

Jules Tavernier Dance in a Subterranean Roundhouse at Clear Lake, California, 1878 The Met

The Triumph of Fame; (reverse) Impresa of the Medici Family and Arms of the Medici and Tornabuoni Families, Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi, ca. 1449, tempera, silver, and gold on wood

Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi The Triumph of Fame; (reverse) Impresa of the Medici Family and Arms of the Medici and Tornabuoni Families, ca. 1449 The Met

Fête champêtre (Pastoral Gathering), Antoine Watteau, 1718–21, oil on panel

Antoine Watteau Fête champêtre (Pastoral Gathering), 1718–21 Art Institute of Chicago

A scene in brown and green tones of people dancing indoors. In the foreground, three women stand near boothed tables while a man sits.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Moulin de la Galette, 1889 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait after a Costume Ball (Portrait of Madame Dietz-Monnin), Edgar Degas, 1879, distemper, metallic paint, and pastel, on canvas

Edgar Degas Portrait after a Costume Ball (Portrait of Madame Dietz-Monnin), 1879 Art Institute of Chicago

The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil, Édouard Manet, 1874, oil on canvas

Édouard Manet The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil, 1874 The Met

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Girl with a Basket of Oranges, c. 1889 National Gallery of Art

Three light-skinned girls hold hands to create a loose ring with their arms extended, in a grassy field in this horizontal painting. All three girls wear white headdresses, ankle-length, long-sleeved dresses, and clogs.

Paul Gauguin Breton Girls Dancing, Pont-Aven, 1888 National Gallery of Art

A woman holding a baby stands near a young boy who perches in the tipped-up end of a rowboat that has been pulled onto a sandy beach in this horizontal painting. All the people have light skin.

Winslow Homer Dad's Coming!, 1873 National Gallery of Art

The Jabach Family, Charles Le Brun, ca. 1660, oil on canvas

Charles Le Brun The Jabach Family, ca. 1660 The Met

Portrait of a Man, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1632, oil on canvas

Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of a Man, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family, 1632 The Met

Portrait of a Woman, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1632, oil on canvas

Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of a Woman, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family, 1632 The Met

An older woman wearing a long black dress sits reading a book in front of a younger woman wearing cream white, who sits on a couch just beyond, in this vertical portrait painting.

Berthe Morisot The Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1869/1870 National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts a woman and a child standing in a wooded area. The woman holds a closed parasol in one hand and reaches down towards the child with the other.

Camille Corot Madame Stumpf and Her Daughter, 1872 National Gallery of Art

We look slightly down onto a baby tucked into an oval-shaped cradle with a woman sitting on the far side looking down at the child in this vertical painting. Both the woman and baby have light skin.

Claude Monet The Cradle - Camille with the Artist's Son Jean, 1867 National Gallery of Art

Shown from the knees up, a woman with peach-colored skin and dark hair sits facing us and holding a baby in this stylized, vertical portrait painting.

Amedeo Modigliani Roma Woman with Baby, 1919 National Gallery of Art

Two women, a man, and three small children gather around a baby sleeping in a wicker cradle near an open window in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale skin with rosy cheeks.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard The Visit to the Nursery, c. 1775 National Gallery of Art

We look across a grassy expanse leading to a lake, with several women, tiny in scale, dancing under a grove of trees to our right in this horizontal landscape painting.

Camille Corot Dance under the Trees at the Edge of the Lake, 1865/1870 National Gallery of Art

The Flight into Egypt, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, ca. 1767–70, oil on canvas

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo The Flight into Egypt, ca. 1767–70 The Met

We look slightly down onto a woman and a young boy, both with pale skin, sitting together on a grassy lawn with a chicken standing nearby in this horizontal painting. The scene is loosely painted with visible brushstrokes throughout.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Madame Monet and Her Son, 1874 National Gallery of Art

In a dance studio, two ballerinas wearing knee-length tutus and ballet slippers sit on a bench and stretch to our right while four more pose at the back of the space, to our left, in this long, horizontal painting.

Edgar Degas Before the Ballet, 1890/1892 National Gallery of Art

We look slightly down onto a woman dressed in golden yellows, sitting in a pale green chair, with a nude child sitting in her lap as they both gaze into a mirror in this vertical portrait painting. Both the people have pale, peachy skin.

Mary Cassatt Woman with a Sunflower, c. 1905 National Gallery of Art

A dimly lit ballet studio is filled with about two dozen young dancers tying on their shoes, stretching, or practicing en pointe in this horizontal painting.

Edgar Degas The Dance Class, c. 1873 National Gallery of Art

Long scroll drawing, upper half is script; lower half depicts people in courtyard.

Ike Taiga Group Pilgrimage to the Jizo Nun, 1755/65 Art Institute of Chicago

A three-part panel featuring a variety of scenes, vertically stacked and richly painted. The central panel features the Virgin Mary and and Child flanked by archangels Gabriel and Michael, twelve disciples below them in grid formation.

Central Ethiopia Triptych, Late 17th century Art Institute of Chicago

Watercolor of man with golden halo on horse, green background.

Ghasi Maharana Bhim Singh in Procession, c. 1820 Art Institute of Chicago

The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1528, oil on wood

Andrea del Sarto The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist, ca. 1528 The Met

Four light-skinned ballerinas with russet-orange hair tied back in buns adjust the straps of their bodices as they gather close together, their bodies and wide, knee-length tutus taking up the left half of this horizontal painting.

Edgar Degas Four Dancers, c. 1899 National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts a young boy sitting in a relaxed position, with his right arm leaning on a black surface. He has pale skin, wide eyes, and a small, slightly downturned mouth.

Camille Corot Italian Peasant Boy, 1825/1827 National Gallery of Art

A light-skinned man in red and woman in blue sit with an infant between them, angels beside and above them, a small town in the background.

Fra Bartolommeo The Nativity, 1504–7 Art Institute of Chicago

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Girl with a Basket of Fish, c. 1889 National Gallery of Art

Famous Paintings of Groups and Gatherings

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