Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Renoir Museum of Cagnes-sur-Mer, also known as Domaine des Collettes, is a villa classified as a Historical Monument and labeled "Twentieth Century Heritage". Acquired in 1907 by Auguste Renoir, this three-hectare estate, with its century-old olive grove and 19th-century farm, became its permanent residence from 1908. The artist, seduced by the setting, built a neo-provencal home with two workshops, where he lived and worked until his death in 1919. This period, known as "cagnoise", marked the end of his career, with works inspired by the estate and its gardens.

Auguste Renoir received major artists such as Henri Matisse, Aristide Maillol or Pablo Picasso, making the domain an artistic meeting place. After his death, his son Claude Renoir inherited places until 1960. The town of Cagnes-sur-Mer then acquired the estate to make it a museum, preserving the workshop, personal objects and the park. Between 2012 and 2013, a complete renovation took place, during which the collections were temporarily transferred to Grimaldi Castle.

The Collettes estate was also used as a decor in 1959 for the film Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, directed by Jean Renoir, son of the painter. Ranked a Historical Monument in 2001, the museum now exhibits works by Renoir, but also by its contemporaries such as Pierre Bonnard, Raoul Dufy and Aristide Maillol. The park, open to the public, and the villa, preserved in the state, offer an intact testimony of the life and work of the painter.

The old farm of the 19th century, surrounded by its outbuildings (tank, wood-burning oven, washhouse), was preserved, adding a historical dimension to the site. The museum, labeled "Maison des Illustres" since 2011, celebrates the heritage of Auguste Renoir and its influence on modern art, in an exceptional setting between sea and hills.

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