Three months later, the mayor of Madré, according to the arrangement he had made with Renoir, notified Vollard of Louis’s death. Four days after the tragedy, Vollard sent a sympathetic letter to Jeanne: ‘Madame: I was notified in a letter from the Mayor of Madré of the great misfortune which has befallen you. I wasn’t able to notify M. Renoir who is currently away, but I took it upon myself to send you, in his name, a money order for the small sum of 200 francs, to be paid to you at your home. Please accept my condolences, Vollard, 6 rue Laffitte.’227 Renoir could not be reached because his health had deteriorated to the point of desperation and he could not walk. To try to remedy this, he had travelled with Gabrielle to Bourbonne-les-Bains for a month’s treatment. Once he heard the disastrous news, he sent Jeanne a heartfelt letter assuring her that she had his support. With compassion and in handwriting shaken by rheumatism, he wrote: ‘My dear Jeanne, I am unable to move right now because of my rheumatism; otherwise, I would have come to see you immediately…. I am writing so that you stop constantly worrying. It’s a terrible misfortune that happened, but you never need to despair. You are thirty-eight years old and I have never abandoned you. I am doing what I can. I have no reason not to take care of you.’ Later in the letter he reiterated and underlined: ‘Never despair.’228
Indeed, Renoir had been looking out for Jeanne all along. His foresight had ensured that the house remained in Jeanne’s possession rather than reverting to Louis’s male heirs as it would according to the Code Napoléon, as I detailed in Chapter 4. Since the house was in Renoir’s name and since Renoir had lent it both to Louis and to Jeanne, she now owned the house in her own name; it would continue to be hers until her death, when ownership of the house would revert to Renoir. In that first letter after Louis’s death, Renoir stated: ‘If you need anything at all, I have assigned Vollard to stand in for me. If you are thinking of giving up the bakery, do so. If, on the other hand, you want to have the oven fixed in order to rent it out, tell Vollard. I will send you the necessary amount of money to do it. Think about it and do what’s best. You are old enough to think sensibly.’229 Here he encourages Jeanne to become a landlady, just as he encouraged Renée Rivière in her singing. What Jeanne did with the bakery is not clear but, two years later, Madré had a new baker, a certain Pierre Gervais Robinet, aged twenty-eight. It is uncertain whether this Robinet was any relation to Louis, and it is also unclear whether Pierre rented the bakery in Jeanne’s home.
A few months after Louis’s death, Renoir wanted Jeanne to open a bank account so that he could send her money. He wrote: ‘My dear child… I need to know if you have received your bankbook so I can send you money. I am going to take care of your life annuity. You can trust me on that…. With love, Renoir.’230 Renoir wanted to continue looking out for Jeanne even after his death. He decided to set up an annuity of 450 francs that would run from his death until hers. He funded this by means of government bonds left to her in his will. As early as the first letter to her after her husband’s death, Renoir began constantly reminding her of his intentions to provide for her. As soon as he was able to set up the annuity, he informed her: ‘I’ve deposited in a bank the money needed for your annuity. Even after my death you will be taken care of.’231
On 14 October 1908, Renoir went to a Paris notary, E. Duhau, and made out a will that included a section about Jeanne: ‘This is my will – I the undersigned Pierre Auguste Renoir, an artist, have made out my will as follows.– I bequeath an annuity of 450 francs to Madame Jeanne, widow of M. Robinet, wife of baker in Madré (Mayenne) who will enjoy the use of it during her life beginning on the day of my death.– This annuity will be assured by registering with a tax of three per cent for the French state by means of French government bonds on 450 francs in her name and for her enjoyment. This gift will be given without any fees or taxes. I revoke all previous wills.– Done and written entirely by my hand in Paris the 14th of October 1908 [signed] Renoir.’232 In this will, Renoir avoided using the name Tréhot, possibly so that his heirs would not become suspicious, since they might have known that Lise Tréhot was Renoir’s first model. It is unclear how Renoir came to the figure of 450 francs for Jeanne’s annuity, since this sum was low and, indeed, less than he sent her per year while he was alive, which was often more than 600 francs a year. Six years later, in 1914 (just as the devaluation of the franc was beginning), Renoir’s instructions to his son Jean on how much to pay a maid provide a comparison with the amount of money he gave to Jeanne: ‘As for the baker’s wife [La Boulangère, Georgette Dupuy], pay her about 50 francs from me, either two francs a day if you feed her during your stay, and three francs a day if you do not.’233 If Georgette worked full-time for the Renoir family, she would have earned 750 francs a year without food, and 500 with meals. In contrast, Renoir’s monetary gifts to his daughter while he was alive were generous. However, his annuity appears stingy since it was less than what he paid his maid a few years later. Yet Georgette was living in Paris, which was a considerably more expensive place to live than his daughter’s small village in the countryside.
During the sixteen years from Jeanne’s marriage until Louis’s death, Renoir had not made a practice of sending Jeanne money on a regular basis, although nine years earlier he had given the 4,500 francs for her house, and sent an additional gift of 200 francs two years later. Presumably, Louis had made enough money with the bakery to support the couple. After Louis’s death, however, Renoir began to make regular monetary gifts to his daughter. For example, around February 1909, when Renoir was making travel arrangements,234 he explained to Jeanne: ‘Vollard will regularly send you 50 francs each month during my absence, plus 100 francs immediately for your winter expenses. If, for any cause whatsoever – sickness or other things – you have need for more money, don’t worry, write Vollard.... I am leaving for Venice with a very bad cold and then on to Egypt. I will see you in the spring. With love, Renoir.’235 This amounted to 600 francs a year plus additional monies. Even a letter from Gabrielle deals with financial assistance: ‘Tomorrow I will send you 100 francs.’236 In total, before Renoir’s death, Jeanne could expect a minimum income from her father of 600 francs per year plus gifts of 100 francs from time to time.
Even though Jeanne owned her own home with a rentable bakery, Renoir’s annuity for his daughter of 450 francs a year was meagre. Because of the devaluation of the franc from 1914, by the time of Renoir’s death in 1919, the annuity he had set up in 1908 was worth less than half (39.5 per cent) its original value. In 1908, the average miner’s salary, for example, was 1,256 francs a year, but in 1919 after deflation, 3,269 francs. Similarly, in 1911, the maximum annual salary for an experienced postman in Paris was 1,900 but in 1919 after deflation, 3,900 francs.237
We do not know why Renoir never changed Jeanne’s annuity after the franc’s devaluation during the last five years of his life. The explanation may lie in his illness and possible worry that making legal changes would risk revealing his secret, still known by only five people – Gabrielle, Vollard, Georgette Dupuy and her husband and M. Duhau. Nonetheless, not giving Jeanne a larger annuity appears stingy and out of character for the usually generous Renoir. Certainly, he was aware that he had more than 700 valuable paintings in his three studios, and many paintings in the warehouse of his dealer that were yet to be sold. He also owned two estates, in Essoyes and in Cagnes. Hence, he knew that his three sons would become enormously wealthy. It will never be known why Renoir did not increase his daughter’s annuity so that she would get a more liveable income after his death. Besides discussing money, Renoir’s letters to her reveal that he was concerned about Jeanne’s health, since she remained sickly for a long time. Even a year after the double tragedies of Louis’s death and her miscarriage, her health continued to worry her father: ‘My dear Jeanne…I hope you are feeling better and that I will find you in good health…. With love, Renoir.’238 Gabrielle expressed equal concern: ‘I hope you are feeling better.’239
Gabrielle’s letters to Jea
nne reveal that an affectionate relationship had developed between the two women who were only eight years apart in age. For example, since Jeanne had told Gabrielle her fears about losing Renoir, Gabrielle updated her on his condition in the same letter: ‘Monsieur Renoir is still doing okay. He isn’t worse. At his age, you cannot expect him to get any younger. His stomach is good and in spite of his rheumatism, I certainly hope that he can still live for a long time…. M. Renoir asks me to send you his love. Write to me. With love, Gabrielle.’240 In the past, Gabrielle used to accompany Renoir to Madré when he went to visit Jeanne. However, as his health worsened, these visits became increasingly difficult. At the time of Louis’s death, Renoir hoped that he would still be able to make the trip. That October, knowing how bereft his daughter was, he wrote: ‘My dear child…. If the weather warms up, I will try to come and visit you. With love, Renoir’,241 and again, about four months later, ‘I will see you in the spring’ but it is unclear whether he was able to travel either time.242
Since it was unlikely that he would be able to visit Jeanne, Renoir had to devise a way for her to come to him. Obviously, she could not stay in the Paris apartment where Pierre was living and where Aline might show up at any time. Instead, Renoir hoped to arrange for Jeanne to stay at the nearby apartment of Georgette Dupuy. Georgette, only two years older than Jeanne, had been an employee of the Renoir family since before 1894, when she had asked Renoir to be a witness at her wedding to a baker, to which Renoir agreed, signing her marriage certificate: ‘Pierre Renoir, 55-year-old-painter, 7, rue de Tourlaque’, his studio address.243
Since Jeanne was a shy person, Renoir worried that she would not feel comfortable staying with people she did not know. Therefore, he asked Georgette to befriend Jeanne so that his daughter would eventually agree to stay with the Dupuys when coming to visit him in Paris. By this time, Renoir must have confided in Georgette about his secret daughter. Renoir’s actions show that he hoped that a friendship might develop between Georgette and Jeanne so that Jeanne would be willing to stay with Georgette when she visited her father in Paris. His hopes rested, in part, on the facts that both women had been married to a baker and were only two years apart in age. As a first step, he arranged for them to begin a correspondence. Shortly after Louis died, Renoir asked Georgette: ‘Would you be kind enough to write to Madame Robinet telling her that she should hire a little maid so she won’t be alone and that she should ask Vollard for anything she might need. It is important to me that she doesn’t lack anything.’244 By telling Georgette to instruct Jeanne rather than doing it himself, Renoir not only managed to get the two women communicating but also, in his typical fashion, avoided doing anything directly in a sensitive situation. Despite his lack of direct involvement, his idea was sympathetic and compassionate. (It is not clear whether Jeanne ever did hire a maid.)
The correspondence between Georgette and Jeanne continued for nearly a year before they met. During this time, Renoir’s hands hurt so badly that he asked Georgette and Gabrielle to write his letters for him. In this way, Georgette also became involved in his efforts to provide money for his daughter. Thus, in May 1909 Georgette, who had come down from Paris to Cagnes for a few days to help, wrote in one of her letters to Jeanne: ‘I am writing you on behalf of Monsieur Renoir whom I am visiting for a few days. As you know, he has a lot of difficulty writing with his ailing hands and he has asked me to do it for him. He sends you his best and asks how you are…. Please be kind enough to respond to me at home…and to acknowledge receipt of the 100 francs that I am sending you on behalf of Monsieur Renoir. He asks me to tell you that he will send you more when he returns to Paris in a month. He sends you his love.’245 Once he had Georgette and Jeanne corresponding for a year, his next aim was that Georgette should go to Madré to meet Jeanne. At Renoir’s request, Georgette offered to come by train the 230 kilometres (143 miles) from Paris. Jeanne wrote back to her about other issues but never mentioned the proposed visit, so Georgette responded: ‘I am writing to M. Renoir at the same time as I am writing to you…. Now I told you in my last letter that I will soon come to visit you, and you didn’t answer me on this subject. I would like to know if it’s OK since I don’t want to come over without your approval. I understand very well that you don’t know me and that is always bothersome, but really, I am not bothersome. I am just a simple working woman, and you will see that when we meet, we will become good friends. My husband travels a lot and I accompany him sometimes; since he is heading in the direction of Alençon, I thought I could stop by and say hello. Well, let’s hope that it will be soon and that you will want to have me over. While waiting for a positive response from you, my husband and I send you our warmest regards.’246 It seems that Jeanne accepted Georgette’s plan and that the two women met in the spring of 1909, since Georgette wrote on 15 July of seeing Jeanne ‘again’ (see next paragraph). Jeanne’s health was evidently still somewhat fragile, for Georgette ended a subsequent letter: ‘I hope that you are feeling better and better!’247
Renoir’s third step in his planned Jeanne–Georgette friendship was to have Jeanne spend a month with Georgette and her husband, not in Paris but in the seaside town of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. Perhaps Renoir hoped that this vacation would do the same for Jeanne as his excursions with Julie and her cousins after Morisot’s death had done for Julie, giving Jeanne an interruption from her mourning. On 15 July 1909, close to a year after Louis’s death, Georgette wrote a letter inviting Jeanne along on her vacation. Georgette must have already invited Jeanne since she expected Jeanne to be ready to leave that same day for a month-long trip: ‘My dear little Jeanne…We are finally going to see each other again…. If, by any chance, you are ready to leave at that time, I will wait for you at the Alençon station until 2 p.m. and from there we will go off towards Saint-Brieuc to join M. Dupuy for a month. If you wish, you only need to bring a few pieces of clothing so you can change and a dress for Sundays. I’ll bring the rest. If this suits you, it’s agreed.’ Georgette included an alternative: ‘Now, if you are unable to leave for Alençon as I told you, then at 2:16 p.m., I will take the train which will take me to Neuilly where I’ll arrive at 3:53 p.m.… So, my little Jeannette, we’ll meet either at 2 p.m. in Alençon or at 3:53 p.m. at Neuilly St Ouen on Friday. That’s all agreed, right? Until I see you again, I send you all my love. Here enclosed is a note from M. Renoir. I will tell you what he told me to tell you in person. See you soon, Georgette.’248 Georgette preferred that Jeanne meet her at Alençon, which would enable them to get to Saint-Brieuc earlier but would also be easier for Georgette. However, Alençon was more difficult for Jeanne since it was about 35 kilometres (21½ miles) from Madré. Georgette realized that there was a more convenient train stop for Jeanne at Neuilly-le-Vendin/Saint-Ouen-le-Brisoult, less than 2 kilometres (about 1 mile) from Jeanne’s home.
Renoir’s letter in the same envelope stated: ‘My dear Jeanne, Madame Dupuy is supposed to stop by to visit you on her way to Saint-Brieuc. You should go with her for a little while. If you decide to, don’t forget to give your address to the postman so that you can access your money. With love, Renoir.’249 From available letters, we cannot be sure whether Jeanne agreed to Georgette’s plan to spend a month together during a time that included the anniversary of Louis’s death on 25 July. Even if Jeanne did go, it seems that the trip may not have gone well and she may have returned to Madré sooner than planned. All that we know is that in the next letter from Georgette to Jeanne, only a month later, dated 23 August 1909, Georgette seems disappointed and distant, icy and formal. This time she began her letter not with ‘Dear little Jeannette’ but ‘Dear Mme Robinet’. For the closing, instead of ‘Georgette’ she signed ‘M. Dupuy and I send you a big hello. See you soon, Mme Dupuy’. This letter, which was sent at Renoir’s behest after Georgette returned to Paris, also stated: ‘I wrote you to ask if you received the 100 f[rancs] that Mr Renoir sent you from Burgundy [Essoyes] but I didn’t receive an answer…. Please tell him if you received
the 100 francs he sent about one and a half months ago.’250 It was precisely for this reason that Renoir had told her to give the postman her holiday address, as just noted.
Despite the fact that Georgette may have been annoyed with Jeanne, Renoir’s plan to have Jeanne stay with Georgette and her husband in Paris proceeded. In September 1909, when Renoir knew that he would be alone in Paris with Gabrielle and Georgette, he invited Jeanne to visit: ‘My dear Jeanne, Since I can’t come to see you, if you want, come to stay with Mme Dupuy as soon as possible, preferably around Tuesday, and I will be able to see you a little. With love. Renoir. September 09. Write us what day you are coming so we can pick you up at the railway station.’251 Whether Jeanne accepted this invitation is not known but she did come to Paris several times and stayed with Georgette and her husband. On one of those visits, Renoir had her photograph taken as a gift to her (printed on its reverse is ‘by Charles Gallot, photographer of intellectuals, Boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris’, not far from both Renoir and the Dupuys’ homes). Jeanne’s photograph (see page 43), the only one she possessed at her death, shows her in a stylish, high-necked, black dress with tight sleeves, puffed shoulder pads and a fitted bodice – probably also a gift from her father. She appears uncomfortable and shy, but it is striking how much she resembles her parents in photographs of them at around the same age (see page 42).252
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