Renoir's Summer Home in Essoyes Opens as Museum

The small village of Essoyes in Champagne-Ardenne, France, is set to inaugurate the house-museum of Pierre-Auguste Renoir on June 3. The municipality purchased the property in 2012 for €600,000 and spent over €1 million on renovations to convert the 200-year-old building into a museum. Renoir bought the house in 1896, six years after marrying Aline Charigot, a local woman who was his lover and muse. Although the family later moved to Cagnes-sur-Mer due to Renoir's health, he continued to spend summers in Essoyes. The renovation included reinforcing floors, installing an elevator, and creating a climate-controlled exhibition space. The museum's design was guided by Renoir's paintings of Essoyes to restore the house to its late 19th-century appearance. Three significant works by Renoir will be loaned from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, and the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer. On June 17, an exhibition of 40 paintings titled "Renoir and His Impressionist Friends" will open, with works largely from the Musée d'Art Moderne in Troyes and some from Picasso's private collection. The village hopes to attract thousands of visitors, as Renoir's separate studio already draws over 10,000 people annually.