Renoir

In the very pretty little village of Essoyes, which is just a ten minute drive from us, is the charming museum dedicated to the artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919).

In Paris in 1880 Renoir met his future wife Aline Charigot, he had persuaded her to be his model as her natural beauty charmed him. This liaison soon grew into a love affair and Aline, who was from Essoyes, encouraged Renoir to visit the area with her to explore the beautiful countryside. In 1896, he decided to buy a delightful 3 storey house on the outskirts of the village, which was to become their family home.

This house is where his sons, Pierre and Jean, grew up and his youngest son, Claude, was born in 1901.

The house, along with his studio in the garden, has recently been extensively renovated. The rooms are filled with gorgeous old memorabilia from the time when Renoir and his family lived there. You can really feel the presence of the family. The wooden toys laid out on the floor for the children to play with, whilst adults enjoyed a glass of wine, chattering and laughing and recounting their day.

The museum visit, which starts in a modern glass fronted building in the middle of the village, presents a short film about Renoir and his family life in Essoyes. You very much feel that he was a family man. The tour then takes you on a walk through the village, up to his house and studio, and finally onto the cemetery, where the two family graves are laid.

All-in-all the tour will take about two hours, but there are a few restaurants in Essoyes, so the visit could be punctuated by a spot of lunch. It’s a very enjoyable day.