Renoir
Page 19
Sadly, this warm foursome came to an end in 1892. Eugène suffered a long illness and, on 13 April 1892, died at the age of fifty-nine. After his death, Renoir became even more supportive of Morisot. He joked with Morisot when he wrote: ‘I thought of you often, but I had absolutely forgotten my role of family adviser’,158 and he encouraged her to continue painting.159 Because of her trust in and admiration of Renoir, Morisot asked him to be Julie’s second unofficial guardian.
Mallarmé and Renoir would not have become close friends without Morisot’s Thursday dinners, which began in the mid-1880s.160 The poet asked Morisot and Renoir to provide illustrations for his book of poems, Pages. In 1887, Renoir sent Mallarmé an illustration, a pen and ink drawing of a nude woman called The Phenomenon of the Future. In 1889, he made this drawing into an etching for the book’s frontispiece.161 This was Renoir’s first etching and he later wrote to Mallarmé: ‘Dear Poet, Allow me to exhibit the only etching I’ve executed that you possess. I am participating in an exhibition where an etching is obligatory [in 1890, Durand-Ruel was planning an exhibition of painter-printmakers].’162 When Mallarmé’s Pages was published in 1891, he gave Renoir a copy inscribed: ‘My dear Renoir, I am proud that your name is here connected to mine, Stéphane Mallarmé.’163 The following year, Renoir painted Mallarmé’s portrait.164
As for Morisot, she and Renoir had a close bond from their earliest time exhibiting together at the first Impressionist group show in 1874. Their relationship was always easy, and they had much in common. They were the same age, and each felt connected to the other not only through their art, but also through their particular adoration of Édouard Manet, Renoir’s mentor and Morisot’s brother-in-law. Both were also extremely sociable.
While Renoir was close to Morisot, he did not share this relationship with Aline. Neither woman knew much about the other. Aline, eighteen years younger, had no professional interest in art, and she grew up without a loving family, with no siblings, abandoned by both parents. It is not surprising that she became a loner, as her aunt had reported: ‘She has never been able to have a friend.’165 Since she always had to rely on her own source of strength, Aline became strong-minded and uncompromising. Unlike the extremely socially adaptable Renoir, Aline was used to achieving her goals without help. As a result, when Renoir agreed to marry her, she thus gained enough power and social status to do as she pleased. Aline got her way most of the time and Renoir did what he wanted behind her back. She often ignored his wishes, something he complained about to friends in letters, as has been seen.
One of the ways in which Aline’s power manifested itself was the family’s seaside vacations. Aline loved the water, and, as a child, had enjoyed wading in the Ource river in Essoyes. From August through October 1892, when Pierre was seven, the family went to Brittany, where they stayed at various hotels near the water at Pornic, Noirmoutier and Pont-Aven.166 Renoir was trying to paint landscapes and indeed painted many, despite his complaints about being near the seaside.167 At the same time, Aline insisted that he teach Pierre how to swim. He mentioned this in several letters, including one to Morisot, in which he wrote: ‘I ended up being stranded at Pornic where I am teaching my son to swim; so far so good, but I should be painting landscapes.’168 He bemoaned his fate to Bérard: ‘For the moment I am at the beach, which is hardly pleasant for me.’169 During the last month of this Brittany trip, he began to lose patience. From Pont-Aven, he wrote to Murer: ‘In short, I had only come to accompany my wife, who loves to travel and…here I am and here I stay. I was grumbling as I left. I hate moving around so much.’170
Perhaps it was because Aline became increasingly domineering after their marriage that Renoir decided to keep another important fact from her: his involvement with the marriage of his illegitimate daughter, Jeanne. As his rheumatoid arthritis progressed, he continued to feel that he wanted Aline to know nothing about Jeanne. Aline’s increasing bossiness probably convinced him that, should Aline ever learn about Jeanne, she would interfere with his relationship with his daughter. In this sphere, Renoir did not trust Aline. His relationship with Jeanne throughout her childhood and up to the age of twenty-two is undocumented since no known letter predates 1892. Given that Jeanne carefully preserved all the letters from her father and none from her mother, we must presume that Lise never contacted her. Lise, doubtless, ignored her daughter because of her own subsequent life.171
While there are no known letters from Renoir to Jeanne before 1892, it is possible that, during her childhood, Renoir might have visited her and her foster family as he travelled to paint portraits and landscapes. If indeed he visited Jeanne, her striking physical resemblance to her mother must have moved him. Among the letters that Jeanne saved from her father was an envelope postmarked 11 February 1892 in Renoir’s handwriting, addressed to ‘Mlle. Jeanne Renoir’, confirming that he not only approved of her using his last name but also used it himself.172 A few days after the 11 February envelope with its letter, Renoir wrote another letter to Jeanne in which he addressed her as ‘tu’, an intimate pronoun that a father would use with his daughter.173 For late nineteenth-century France, it is amazing that Renoir should acknowledge an illegitimate daughter and act like a father to her, but even more amazing is that he allowed Jeanne to use his last name, so that she became known in her church and town with the surname Renoir. Well before that time, when Jeanne was eleven, she used ‘Renoir’ in the village school and it was recorded as her last name in official church documents of 1885, continuing to 1893.174 It can be assumed that Renoir had given Jeanne his approval to use his last name since the priest, the same man who had recorded her last name as Tréhot in her third baptism certificate in 1875, agreed to record her last name as Renoir in her first communion document of 24 July 1881 and in her confirmation of 15 June 1882.
Jeanne’s foster parents must have loved her, since they went to the trouble of including her in their family by making their daughter, Eugénie, her godmother.175 The foster family arranged a third baptism for five-year-old Jeanne when Eugénie became a legal adult at age thirteen. They also chose a close family friend as godfather, Valentin Joseph David junior, then also thirteen (1862–1932). Jeanne’s third baptismal document provides the same information as had Jeanne’s birth certificate: ‘Third baptism; in the year eighteen seventy five on May twenty-third, was baptized by us, the undersigned priest, Jeanne, Marguerite Trehot, born from an unknown father and from Lise Trehot, on July twenty-first eighteen seventy in Paris. The God father: Valentin David, The God mother: Eugénie Blanchet, have signed with us. Brochard, Priest in the church of Sainte-Marguerite de Carrouges.’176 The document also records in different handwriting, ‘Reconnue par Renoir’ (recognized by Renoir), which must have been written later since this note is false: Renoir never recognized Jeanne legally. Perhaps he recognized her unofficially, since, when she took her first communion aged eleven, the priest recorded her name as: ‘Marguerite Renoir’ (using Renoir’s mother’s name).177 The following year, when she was confirmed in the same church, her name again was recorded as ‘Marguerite Renoir’.178 Later, Jeanne must have decided that she preferred her first name to be Jeanne. Thenceforth, in various other church documents in which she is recorded as a witness, she signed her name as ‘Jeanne Renoir’: on the marriage certificate of her godfather on 13 June 1885, on the marriage certificate of her godmother on 24 November 1885 and on the baptism certificate of her godson on 2 February 1893.179
Envelope in Renoir’s handwriting, 11 February 1892, addressed to Mlle Jeanne Renoir and postmarked from boulevard de Clichy, Paris, where Renoir had a studio
While Renoir must have approved his daughter’s use of his last name, it was impossible for him to recognize her legally before 1890 when he got married. The law in France specified that an abandoned child could not be reclaimed by an unmarried parent because it would put the child in what was considered an immoral situation. Furthermore, reclaiming a child was a rarity in France; less than 2 per cent of foundlings were
restored to a parent.180 Yet Renoir did what was morally commendable by caring for Jeanne throughout his lifetime.
Renoir was generous to his daughter. In a letter to her of 14 February 1892, he wrote to her that he had sent her a government bond for 400 francs.181 Thereafter, he sent her money in every letter. His dealings with his daughter were some of the kindest and most selfless interactions over his entire life. He could well have washed his hands of her, as Lise had done. Instead, his actions show true affection for his daughter, respect for her as a person and connection to his earlier life.
Renoir’s involvement in Jeanne’s life extended well beyond the monetary. Starting in mid-June 1893, and for the next twenty days, Renoir wrote a series of letters to her and to her fiancé, Louis Théophile Robinet, who had written to ask Renoir’s permission to wed his daughter. At this time Jeanne was twenty-three and Louis eight years older. He was a baker in Beauvain, near the town of La Ferté-Macé, both about 15 kilometres (9½ miles) from the town where Jeanne’s foster parents lived, Sainte-Marguerite-de-Carrouges. Jeanne kept Renoir’s reply on 19 June 1893 in its envelope, addressed to ‘Monsieur Louis Robinet’: ‘Dear Sir, In response to your marriage proposal to Jeanne, I want to let you know that I am very pleased, and that because Jeanne is free to choose as she pleases, she has made a good choice. I have nothing else to say, except to wish you good health, while I am confident in your good intentions. I wish you happiness with a very serious and genuinely honest wife. With all my best regards. Renoir, June 19, 1893.’182 Renoir shows here respect for Louis and esteem for his daughter, praising Jeanne’s qualities not as a beautiful young woman but as a serious and honest one.
The same day, Renoir also wrote to Jeanne: ‘At the same time I’m writing to Monsieur Louis Robinet.’ He explained his attempts to get a copy of her birth certificate, which she needed in order to get married. Since she had been born in a public hospital in the tenth arrondissement in Paris, Renoir needed to go to that town hall to retrieve a copy of the document. He wrote: ‘My dear Jeanne, I worked as quickly as possible, but in Paris, before you can access this type of information, you must wait...a while. Anyway, you’ll receive your birth certificate Wednesday morning. It will be posted directly to you from the city hall to Sainte-Marguerite. Should you not receive it, write me immediately. You don’t need anything else, and I’ll send you a separate note to show the mayor in case he refuses the documents. I think it will arrive in time so you can be married the 10th [of July]. I am also putting aside 100 francs for you. As soon as you have the documentation and your problems are settled, I will send it to you to add to your savings account. I will bring you the rest on your wedding day. Best to you, Renoir, 19 June.’ In the margin he wrote: ‘The other note is to show the mayor in case there is any trouble.’183 The anticipated trouble was the fact that, as described in Chapter 1, her birth and baptism certificates gave the name Jeanne Marguerite Tréhot, yet since at least 1885, she had signed her name ‘Jeanne Renoir’, as just described, most recently in February 1893, five months before her wedding, at her godson’s baptism.184
After Renoir wrote these letters to Louis and Jeanne, he went to visit Gallimard at his country house in Benerville-sur-Mer near Deauville. Benerville is about 118 kilometres (73 miles) away from Sainte-Marguerite-de-Carrouges. Eleven days later, on 30 June, Renoir wrote his daughter sensible fatherly words concerning a marriage contract with Louis: ‘My dear Jeanne, I have finally received the good news [that your birth certificate was accepted]. I am sending you 500 francs. As soon as you respond, I will send you more. For the marriage contract, do what is in your best interest. I cannot advise you on this. You need to consider everything including the most unpleasant things, and you need to think about your [future] children. Perhaps a contract is preferable, but as I said, do as you please. Let me know how much money you have left. Do not include your stock. As agreed I will make up the difference up to three thousand.’ Thus, it seems, Renoir gave his daughter the considerable dowry of 3,000 francs, twice what Louis had in cash.185 Renoir continues his letter: ‘Spend the least possible on your wedding. No unnecessary frivolity. Be frugal. Let me know in one of your letters the distance between your place [in Sainte-Marguerite where the civil ceremony would be held on 9 July] and La Ferté [where the religious ceremony would be held on 10 July] and if carriages are available. In short, tell me the quickest and the easiest way to come. I don’t want to take the carriage from Argentan; it’s a lost day…. Best wishes to you, Renoir. Respond at once. June 30, ’93’.186 Renoir may ostensibly have been visiting Gallimard, but this letter makes it clear that he intended not only to help fund the wedding but also to attend both the civil and religious ceremonies.
Despite Renoir’s efforts, there were legal complications with the wedding due to the discrepancy between the name on Jeanne’s birth certificate and the name she went by, but he continued to assist her. On 3 July, he wrote again: ‘My dear child, I am giving you a letter for the notary. Go there as soon as possible. I will pay all the fees. I believe this is the only solution to the problem. In the letter I explain things to him as best I can. If we need to contact the public prosecutor, ask the notary how to go about it. Seal the letter and post it as soon as possible.’187 Just before her wedding, Jeanne seems to have been too busy to respond. Renoir, exasperated with the lack of news, chided her: ‘My dear Jeanne, I can see that I will never be able to know if my letter to the notary reached him or if it got lost. Are you ill? Why are you not responding to me? I am waiting to send you money. I wanted to send you wine but by slow mail. It’s too late. It would not get to you on time. Fondly, Renoir. I hope to have heard from you by tomorrow morning.’188
Ever anxious, Renoir wrote again after two days: ‘My dear child, I know that I’m pressuring you a bit to confirm receipt of the money that I sent you, but because a letter of mine was once lost, I don’t want it to happen again. That is why I always ask you to reply promptly. I hope that your troubles are coming to an end. That good ol’ mayor of yours is insane. He doesn’t know how to do his job. I am sending you one thousand francs all at once. Please respond by return post, if you are able. Fondly, Renoir, Friday, July 7, ’93.’189
That same day, Jeanne and Louis signed a marriage contract in the office of Maître Drouet, a notary in the village of Sainte-Marguerite-de-Carrouges.190 Two days later, they signed a civil contract in a ceremony at six o’clock in the evening, in the mayor’s office in Sainte-Marguerite. The document states: ‘Robinet Louis-Théophile, a baker, residing in Carrouges (Orne), born in Courberie (Mayenne), the twenty-eighth of May, eighteen sixty-three, as it shows in his birth certificate that was shown to us, the latter having fulfilled military law as seen in his military record, which was shown to us, of age, the son of the deceased couple Robinet….’ Of the bride, the civil contract asserts: ‘Tréhot Jeanne Marguerite, without any specific profession, residing in this town, the village of L’Être-Chapelle [part of Sainte-Marguerite-de-Carrouges], born in Paris (tenth arrondissement), the twenty-first of July, 1870, as shown by her birth certificate, which was shown to us, of legal age, the illegitimate and not legally recognized daughter of Tréhot Lise, whose residence is unknown.’ The civil contract also included the names of four witnesses, one of whom was Jeanne’s foster father, François Blanchet, who was described in the 7 July marriage contract as ‘Blanchet François, landowner, fifty-six years old, living in this town, village of l’Être-Chapelle, friend of the bride.’191 The following day, 10 July 1893, they held a religious ceremony.192
The correspondence between Renoir and Jeanne shows his intention to be present at his daughter’s wedding although there is no documentation to prove that he attended any of the ceremonies. Nevertheless, after the wedding, he kept in touch with his daughter and son-in-law. Five days later, on 15 July, Renoir, then 149 kilometres (92 miles) north in Montebourg, wrote a letter to his son-in-law that he sent to their new home at 8 rue de Levant, La Ferté-Macé (4.8 kilometres/3 miles from the bakery where
Louis worked).193 Later on, Renoir continued to plan to visit his daughter and son-in-law in secret. An undated letter after the wedding reads: ‘My dear child…I will let you know when I can come to see both of you…. Affectionately, Renoir.’194 A month after Jeanne’s wedding, in August 1893, Renoir vacationed with Aline and Pierre in Pont-Aven in Brittany, as they had the previous summer, his wife and son still completely unaware of this other branch of his family.
Chapter 4
1894–1900
Renoir aged 53–59,
Baby Jean, Continuing Success,
Worsening Sickness and Marital Strife
After one miscarriage in 1890 and a second two years later, Aline and Renoir were thrilled when their second son, Jean, was born on 15 September 1894. The birth took place at their home at 13 rue Girardon in Montmartre. The name ‘Jean’ had no family significance for Renoir or Aline, but was and is a common Christian name. It is also the name of which ‘Jeanne’ is the female equivalent, the name of Renoir and Lise’s daughter, unknown to Aline. Jean was Renoir’s first legitimate child. A few days after his birth, Renoir registered him at the mayor’s office. The birth certificate states: ‘[In] the 18th arrondissement, on fifteen September 1894, at 11 p.m. was born at the home of his father and mother, Jean Renoir of the male sex, of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, fifty-three years old, artist-painter, and of Aline Victorine Charigot, thirty-five years old, with no profession, married and living at 13 rue Girardon. [This record was] drawn up by us on eighteen September 1894, at 9 a.m., at the presentation of the child and the above declaration by the father.’1