Renoir
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Even during the war, Renoir’s art sold for extremely high prices. In 1918, Reclining Nude, 1903, sold for 135,000 francs.20 The Durand-Ruels’ account with Renoir increased over time. For example, in November 1917, Georges informed Renoir: ‘The credit of your account is 35,438.15 francs; to this now should be added 75,000 francs, [for] the value of paintings.’21 Nine months later, Georges reported again: ‘Your credit is 81,050.35 francs; today I am adding 40,000 francs for the paintings I took back with me.’22 And, of course, Renoir also had accounts with his other dealers Vollard and Bernheim.
More important to Renoir than money was public esteem, which also grew. In striking contrast with the mockery he had received early in his career, late in his life, Renoir was highly esteemed. In September 1919, Renoir was invited to see his c. 1877 Portrait of Mme Georges Charpentier (see page 90), recently acquired by the Louvre. That his portrait was placed in the Louvre was exceptional since the Luxembourg Museum was normally reserved for the work of living artists and the Louvre for deceased artists. The exception had been made because of Renoir’s illness. On this occasion, Renoir experienced the Louvre by being paraded in a sedan chair on bamboo poles through the galleries, accompanied by dignitaries and curators. He had been invited by Paul Léon, France’s Director of Fine Arts. Albert André, who was part of the retinue, wrote: ‘[Renoir’s] last great joy as a painter was the stroll across the Louvre which Mr Paul Léon did with him three months before his death…. “I saw the Noces de Cana [Veronese’s Wedding Feast at Cana] from up high!” he said, in recounting this visit, where he was carried through the rooms of the museum like the pope of painting.’23 Given this treatment, it is unsurprising that France offered Renoir the highest possible rank in the Légion d’Honneur. In March 1919, six and a half years after he had become an officer, he was promoted ‘in the name of the President of the Republic…[to] Commander of the Légion d’Honneur’.24
The last four years of Renoir’s life were not only the zenith of his fame, but also a period of renewed creativity and productivity prompted by his new model, Dédée, who followed three great predecessors: Lise, Aline and Gabrielle. Andrée Madeleine Heuschling (1900–1979), called Dédée, joined the Renoir household aged sixteen in 1916.25 The photograph reproduced on page 325 shows her standing next to Renoir; on the easel is a painting for which she had posed – Torso (Study of Nude) of about 1918.26 André wrote to Georges Durand-Ruel of her presence on 19 December 1916: ‘He is doing magnificent things. He has a model that he likes a lot and he dreams of doing great things.’27 In André’s 1931 book, he elaborated on her importance: ‘Finally during the last four years, the happy discovery of a beautiful pink and blonde creature seemed to make Renoir’s dreams come true and to rejuvenate him completely…. He spends all his time making an abundance of female bathers, of odalisques, of flowers, of landscapes in which women shine like rays of the sun.’28
Letter from Renoir to Gaston Bernheim de Villers, showing his ability to write and draw. Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris Girl with Bird, 1915–16. 73 × 60 cm (28¾ × 23⅝ in.). Private collection. Photo courtesy Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Girl with Bird, 1915–16. 73 × 60 cm (28¾ × 23⅝ in.). Private collection. Photo courtesy Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Dédée replaced Gabrielle in modelling and Grand’ Louise took over the cooking. Just as in the past anyone wishing to reach Renoir had to go through Gabrielle, now Grand’ Louise protected Renoir from the outside world. For example, when an art dealer wanted to buy some Renoir works, he asked Guino in May 1917: ‘Could you approach him discreetly or, if you prefer, go through Louise. She will give you the important information.’29
As for Gabrielle, she continued to live with Conrad Slade at the Hotel Savournin in Cagnes until early in the war, when the couple moved to Athens for a year.30 After Aline’s death in June 1915, they returned to Cagnes and resumed living at the Savournin, where they were still in residence in March 1918 when Gabrielle wrote to Jeanne Robinet.31 Gabrielle did not resume modelling because she was now Slade’s companion but she continued a close friendship with Renoir and his family. As an expression of his affection, Renoir gave Gabrielle eighteen of his paintings, one for each year that she had modelled for him. This generous gift included four portraits of Gabrielle, along with other portraits, still lifes and landscapes.32 Through these last years of Renoir’s life, Gabrielle was often at his side. For example, in January 1916, Cassatt informed Mme Durand-Ruel: ‘I had Mr Renoir over for lunch. He is weak. Fortunately he has this woman living nearby, but she is very tired.’33 Gabrielle also resumed her role as the source of news about Renoir’s health. For instance, in May 1917, André wrote: ‘We haven’t had news about Renoir for quite some time now. The last news was from Gabrielle who had just come from Cagnes.’34
Besides André, Jeanne Tréhot Robinet was another person who relied on Gabrielle for news about Renoir. Jeanne’s regular contact with her father had been disrupted by the war, which made her yearly Paris visits impossible. Since Renoir found holding a pen was much more difficult than holding a paintbrush, Gabrielle and others wrote to Jeanne to convey his words and gifts of money.35 For example, in March 1918, Gabrielle wrote: ‘M. Renoir is, as always, doing well and not so well. He is getting on in years: he turned seventy-seven on 25 February. In spite of everything, he still works a little, especially now that the weather is nice; it is more pleasant for him. He asked me to send you all his best wishes. Answer me as soon as you receive this letter. I will send you money…. I hope that you are well and that you aren’t too deprived of food. Here we barely have enough and it is very expensive. Love, Gabrielle, Hôtel Savournin, Cagnes, Alpes-Maritimes.’36
Renoir also enlisted his chauffeur, Baptistin Ricord, to help him communicate with Jeanne. Eight months later, just after the end of the war, Jeanne got a letter from Baptistin: ‘Madame, I am writing you on behalf of Monsieur Renoir who cannot write himself, to ask you to be kind enough to respond to my letter…. After we receive a response, we will send money. Write to M. Baptistin Ricord at Cagnes (Alpes-Maritimes)/Cagnes, 19 November 1919.’37 It is doubtful whether the chauffeur had any idea to whom he was writing or why Renoir was sending her money, since Jeanne’s existence was still a secret except for the few individuals already mentioned – Vollard, Gabrielle, Georgette Dupuy and her husband, and M. Duhau with whom Renoir had drafted his 1908 will.
Renoir and Dédée with painting of Torso (Study of Nude), 1918. Photographer unknown
In spite of the war, Jeanne’s state of mind seems to have improved in the decade since her husband’s death. She was still living in Madré, signing a letter of 1 May 1917 to Vollard: ‘Your very grateful, widow Robinet, Madré, Mayenne.’38 In this letter, she displays an interest in the state of the people around her and there are no more references to her eating problems. Although she had begun renting out the bakery in her home as her father had suggested, two and a half years into the war Jeanne was short of money. Wartime deprivations had made living especially difficult and so, in March 1917, as her father had instructed, Jeanne turned to Vollard in her need. However, her first letter received no response. Two months later, she again appealed to Vollard, in that 1 May letter: ‘I no longer have proper clothes to go out in because, since the beginning of the war, I haven’t stopped mourning my nephews who were killed; there are five: four brothers and their cousin. Also, my shoes and hats are worn, well worn. I am, however, invited to go, during the first days of June, to the communion of my little god-daughter, who is the great-niece of my foster mother. It would bother me greatly to say no for they have always been very kind’,39 expressing gratitude and love for her foster family during this stressful wartime period. In the same letter, she also writes poignantly about her father: ‘I think that M. Renoir is coming back to Paris soon. I really hope that he’ll want to tell me about what’s going on in his life. I would be very happy, if he can’t write, if you, dear sir, would please share his news with me.’40 It appears from the same
letter that Jeanne at forty-seven continued to rely on her father: ‘I certainly hope that M. Renoir won’t mind sending me what I need. He should know that I don’t waste money because my day-to-day subsistence comes from the fifty francs I get every month [from renting out the bakery].’41 We have no evidence as to whether Vollard responded; if he did not, Jeanne could have contacted her father through Gabrielle, Georgette or Baptistin.
Until the end of his life, in fact, Renoir sent money to Jeanne. For example, four months before his death, Georgette wrote asking Jeanne if she had received money that Renoir had sent her: ‘Please tell him if you received the 100 francs he sent about one and a half months ago. He is fine and kisses you warmly. M. Dupy and I send you a big hello. See you soon, Mme Dupuy.’42 In 1919, after the interruptions of the war, it seems that Jeanne was resuming her customary August visit to Paris to see her father.
Although Jeanne lived through the war unscathed, her two half-brothers, Pierre and Jean, were not so fortunate since both were severely injured, as described in Chapter 6. On 24 August 1915, almost a year after being wounded and two months after the death of his mother, Pierre was discharged from the army, classified as an injured veteran and given a lifelong pension of 80 per cent of his army salary. He was decorated with three honours: the Croix de Guerre, Military Medal and Inter-allied Medal.43 Pierre’s arm injuries required extensive operations and he never fully recovered. Later, Jean wrote: ‘Professor Gosset, a surgeon of genius, was trying to restore the partial use of his right hand by bone grafts taken from other parts of his body. Pierre was in great pain, but he never complained.’44 Although Gosset was able to prevent amputation, Pierre’s arm was left withered and paralysed. In December 1915, Joseph Durand-Ruel informed Renoir: ‘The operation was very painful, and he stayed under the influence of chloroform [anaesthesia] for several days…. His arm is not healed.’45 Three years later, in October 1918, Renoir reported another surgery to Gangnat: ‘The house [in Cagnes] is full after four months of solitude and worries and Pierre will return after having undergone a very painful operation.’46
After his discharge, Pierre, then aged thirty, lived primarily in Paris with Véra and Claude junior at 30 rue de Miromesnil. Although he had been injured on 2 September 1914, a year later, on 25 September 1915, he began acting again at the Théâtre de l’Ambigu.47 He also resumed his role as liaison between Renoir and others in the Parisian art world. For example, in July 1916, Pierre informed Guino: ‘[Dr] Prat declared that my father cannot leave this week…. Come have lunch or dinner whenever you like; it will make him happy. Best, Pierre Renoir.’48 He also became something of an adviser to his father as when, in September 1916, Renoir explained to Joseph Durand-Ruel: ‘I feared fatigue and I listened to Pierre’s advice to cut the trip short.’49 Then, in the spring of 1918, when the Germans advanced to Paris, the capital was evacuated. Pierre rescued several large canvases from Renoir’s studio, which he brought to his father in Nice.50 Another sign of the developing respect Renoir had for Pierre was his increasing acceptance of Véra and Claude, whom he welcomed into his home alongside Pierre. He allowed the couple to continue drawing on his funds from Durand-Ruel, just as Pierre had done when living alone in Paris: for example, Véra withdrew a total of 4,000 francs between March 1918 and January 1919.51
Jean and two other wounded soldiers with Coco and a nurse in the garden of the Hotel Ritz Military Hospital, Paris, 1915. Photographer unknown. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Art Library Special Collection, Jean Renoir Collection
Meanwhile, the theatre scene in Paris continued despite the war, Véra still acting as well as Pierre. Their fame was such that reporters would travel all the way to Cagnes just to interview them, as in April 1917, when a journalist from La Rampe wrote: ‘Everyone knows that Madame Véra Sergine married Monsieur Pierre Renoir, the well-known actor who, gone to the front and injured, had been away from the stage for a while. He has just returned to the Porte Saint-Martin Theatre in The Amazon. He is the son of the illustrious painter Renoir.’52 Sometimes, Pierre and Véra appeared together, as in November 1917 at the Vaudeville Theatre.53 Mostly, however, they acted in different plays. Despite a paralysed and shrunken right arm and persistent pains in his abdomen, over his career Pierre acted in 49 plays and 63 films between his return to the stage in September 1915 and his death in 1952.54 The critics loved him, writing: ‘This tall, handsome, and perfectly elegant young man is waiting patiently and optimistically for this new operation which will perhaps cure him. And to spend his time better while waiting, he is going to act again. He will be a role model by returning to the profession that he was engaged in and loves and will continue no matter what.’55 Pierre’s heroism lay in the perseverance he had learned from his father, who was continuing to create art despite his worsening physical disability. As one theatre critic wrote about Pierre in 1915: ‘Yesterday’s emotional audience praised him doubly: as a hero and as an actor.’56
While Aline had suffered and Renoir continued to suffer through both sons’ injuries and treatments, their plight was similar to many families whose sons had served in the war. In fact, the casualties were so massive and horrendous that 75 per cent of French soldiers were either killed or wounded.57 As Renoir wrote in 1918 to a former Japanese student, R. Umehara: ‘my two eldest were very seriously wounded. The eldest has one arm that only has one bone left in it and the youngest was shot in the thigh through to the top of the knee. He healed thanks to his youth and robust health. But they are alive and I find myself very lucky compared to others who have lost everything.’58 Yet even though Pierre was out of the fighting after the first month of the war, Jean remained on active service throughout, causing Renoir four years of acute anxiety. Jean, only twenty when the war began, fought valiantly as an officer, first in the cavalry, then in the infantry, then in photographic reconnaissance and finally in the air force, ending as a fighter pilot.
On 7 July 1915, only two weeks after his arrival in the hospital in Besançon and only one week after his mother’s death, Jean was transported 411 kilometres (257 miles) to Paris. He underwent seven weeks of medical treatment at the military hospital set up in the Grand Palais, usually an exhibition space, and was told that he would lodge with other wounded soldiers at the Ritz hotel. Renoir, who was eager to meet Jean in Paris, was stuck in Cagnes, as he wrote to Maleck the next day, 8 July 1915: ‘My trip is once again delayed, indigestion, fever, etc….. Jean, at the Ritz hotel in Paris, I don’t understand that. I will write you as soon as I’m in Paris…. The doctor will tell me when I can escape this scorching temperature.’59 Nevertheless, a week or so later, Renoir, accompanied by Coco, then fourteen, was finally able to join Jean in Paris. The photograph opposite includes Jean in uniform and Coco wearing a black armband of mourning for their mother.
While continuing his treatments at the Grand Palais, Jean requested permission to live with his father and brother in their Paris apartment. Jean’s military record of 7 July 1915, includes a doctor’s note: ‘The Second Lieutenant Renoir asked to be treated at the Grand Palais all the while being allowed to heal in his home, which seems possible to me from a medical perspective.’60 At the family apartment (57 bis boulevard Rochechouart), Jean had the benefits of the company of his father and brother, the entertainment of a new film projector that Renoir had bought,61 and the presence of Renoir’s model, Dédée, whom Jean would grow to love. The same military record book specifies that Jean completed his four months of medical treatment on his leg on 26 August 1915. That autumn, when Renoir needed to retreat to the warmth of Cagnes, Jean was allowed to go south with him to continue recuperating at Les Collettes. During a visit that October, Paul Cézanne junior explained to his wife: ‘Jean’s presence and the affection he gives [Renoir] and the vitality which he provides rejuvenate Renoir. They spend every afternoon in the car that Jean drives.’62 Clearly, the injury to Jean’s left leg did not unduly hamper his driving ability. Even though Renoir was happy to have Jean close, he felt extremely frustrated with the co
urse of the war, then in progress for a year, as he expressed to Jeanne Baudot: ‘Everyone must play their part to remediate this general disaster. Everything has changed drastically for civilians and for the military.’63
Jean, too, had his part to play, since the medical inspector soon pronounced him fit for duty. Father and son both knew that a return to the infantry with his left leg 4 centimetres (1½ inches) shorter than his right would spell disaster. On 1 November 1915, Renoir wrote to Rivière: ‘I am very upset, not knowing what to do. It is important that Jean’s request for the armoured truck division have a follow-up. Otherwise it’s a death sentence because he won’t be able to defend himself since he has a lot of trouble walking. Tell me what I should do. What do you think is best?’ On the back of Renoir’s letter, Jean added a note: ‘Dear M. Rivière, My father has also written to Élie Faure, 147 blvd. St-Germain. He asked me to tell you so as to keep you informed of all the steps taken.’64 A week later, on 8 November, Renoir received a response from Faure: ‘I have no need to tell you that I will do everything I can for your son. I am writing to my brother-in-law at the same time that I am writing to you. He is an officer in the Minister’s Special Service…. The best thing to do to speed this up would be for your son to write him directly with what he wants. He will have been forewarned and very disposed to help, I promise, because we are on more than brotherly terms and, on top of that, he is a great fan of your – allow me the word – genius…. He shouldn’t be afraid to give him all the details and be precise.’65 As soon as Renoir received this letter, Jean wrote to Faure’s brother-in-law: ‘Major…I applied for tank duty a month ago. But having never received a response, I have abandoned hope of joining this branch of the service, and this is why I have asked to enter the Air Force. Being unable to fight on foot because of my serious leg wound, it would be for me the only way not to rot in the barracks and still be of some service to the country. My application for the Air Force was sent two weeks ago. I would be happy if you could advise me on this matter and tell me if there is any hope.’66 Even injured, Jean was fearless. The Air Force appealed to Jean since it served the same function as had the cavalry, scouting ahead of the infantry to report back on the enemy. However, while the hopelessly outdated cavalry dated back to Julius Caesar, aeroplanes were a new technology (the first mechanized flights had taken place in 1901 and the French air force had been founded in 1909). Acknowledging his ‘serious leg wound’, Jean was still determined to serve his country. Drawing on his father’s connections made the difference, and Jean was able to get into the air force. Early in 1916, Renoir sent a letter to André: ‘Forgive me if I don’t talk about this stupid war, which makes no sense but will never end. Jean is still in Nice, still waiting to leave for the Air Force.’67