Biography · health · latest works
How did Auguste Renoir die? Illness, age and recent years
Renoir died at the age of 78, on December 3, 1919, in his house in Les Collettes in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Lung congestion is generally given as an immediate cause - and not rheumatoid arthritis which had seriously handicapped him.
The essentials in thirty seconds
What did Renoir die of?
This is the immediate cause most often indicated in biographies. Institutional sources mainly confirm the date and place of death.
She deforms her hands, limits her shoulders and legs then forces her to use a wheelchair. However, she does not stop her work.
Portraits, landscapes, sculptures and large bathers still occupy his workshop. His late work is therefore not reduced to illness.
The death
December 3, 1919: his last hours at Collettes
A death at home, in the South
Pierre-Auguste Renoir died on his property in Cagnes-sur-Mer on December 3, 1919. Born February 25, 1841 in Limoges, he was 78 years old at the time. The Collettes estate is not a simple place of retirement: it is a family home, a garden, a workshop and one of the main subjects of his late painting.
The Ministry of Culture and the Renoir Museum in Cagnes confirm that the artist lived in Les Collettes until his death. The Musée d'Orsay also places his death in Cagnes-sur-Mer in 1919.
What does "lung congestion" mean?
Biographies use this expression to describe the final cause. It is a fairly general historical term, which refers to congestion or acute damage to the lungs. It does not, on its own, make it possible to reconstruct a precise modern diagnosis.
It is therefore more rigorous to write that Renoir is death from lung congestion according to biographies, without transforming this formula into a detailed medical file. Polyarthritis is much better documented over the long term through photographs, family testimonies and retrospective medical studies.
Chronic illness
Rheumatoid arthritis that has become very debilitating
The first joint signs probably appeared in the 1890s, when Renoir was around fifty. The disease then progresses: swelling, deformation of the fingers, stiffness of the wrists and shoulders, difficulty walking, weight loss and loss of autonomy.
A study published in the British Medical Journal describes an aggressive form that became particularly disabling after 1903. Around 1912, Renoir no longer walked and worked from a wheelchair. However, reduced mobility does not mean artistic paralysis or disappearance of the precision of the gaze.
The small joints of the hands and feet, then the wrists, shoulders and legs. Fine gestures become difficult and the artist depends more on those around him.
The pictorial decision: choice of models, composition, color, correction and direction of the sculptures. Renoir remains the author of the work, even when assistants facilitate material execution.
The Midi refuge
Why is Renoir moving to Cagnes-sur-Mer?
Climate and working conditions
Renoir already knew the south of France when he discovered Cagnes at the beginning of the 20th century. He bought the Collettes estate in 1907 and built his house there. The milder climate addresses his health problems, while the garden offers him olive trees, views, figures and family scenes within workshop reach.
The house is now the Renoir Museum. In particular, its furniture, easel, wheelchair, paintings and sculptures are kept there. The place makes visible what the texts poorly explain: the proximity between domestic life, models, the garden and work.
A retirement that remains productive
At Collettes, Renoir painted the landscapes of his property, his surroundings and large naked figures. He also moved on to sculpture with the help of Richard Guino from 1913. Relative immobility concentrated his visual world, but it did not impoverish it.
Late landscapes have ample paste, melted shapes and a warm color. They do not only describe the Côte d'Azur: they build an ideal, timeless nature, which prepares the decor for the last bathers.
Technique and preconceived ideas
Did Renoir paint with his brushes attached to his hands?
The formula is spectacular, but reality requires nuance. Assistants placed or fixed the brush in his deformed hand when he could no longer grasp it alone. The bands visible in some photographs also protected the skin and absorbed perspiration; they were not simply a permanent device "attaching" the brush.
Renoir holds the handle between his thumb and palm, moves his forearm and body more, and changes brushes less often. His palette ends up being mounted on the chair.
A roller system allows the painted surface in front of it to be moved. He can thus work a work much larger than the amplitude of his shoulder.
Practical assistance is not a substitution of the artist. In painting, Renoir remains the one who sees, chooses and corrects. In the sculpture, Richard Guino models under his direction: the Musée d'Orsay explicitly presents this collaboration, made necessary by rheumatism almost completely paralyzing the hands.
1914 - 1919
War, mourning and creation in recent years
A trying family period
The First World War directly hit the family. Pierre and Jean Renoir were mobilized and injured. In June 1915, Aline Renoir died. The painter, already very diminished, thus went through illness, mourning and worry for his sons.
The Musée d'Orsay, however, highlights the arrival of new momentum around Andrée Heuschling, known as Dédée. The young model, met around 1915, inspired several late paintings and participated in the genesis of the Bathers. She married Jean Renoir a few weeks after the painter's death.
Official recognition at the summit
Renoir is no longer the contested artist of the Impressionist beginnings. He was made Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1919. His portrait of Madame Charpentier and her children was exhibited at the Louvre, where he went that same year.
This visit takes on a symbolic value: the living painter finds his work among the masters he has studied all his life. It shows how his last period combined physical fragility and public consecration.
The pictorial testament
The Bathers, the culmination of 1918 -1919
Renoir returned after 1910 to one of his favorite themes: the nude in nature. In large late compositions, he erases almost all signs of modernity. Fleshy figures, vegetation, reds and ochres make up a timeless Mediterranean world.
The models pose in the Collettes garden. However, the painting does not look like a simple view of Cagnes. Renoir transformed the place into Arcadia, nourished by his admiration for Titian and Rubens.
The Musée d'Orsay qualifies The Bathers pictorial testament. His three sons gave the work to the State in 1923. This family gesture fixes a different image of the end of Renoir: not that of a man reduced to his armchair, but that of a painter who pursues a monumental ambition.
Chronological benchmarks
Renoir's last twenty-five years
The first visible signs of polyarthritis appear in the hands.
The disease becomes more aggressive; Renoir stays more and more in the South.
He bought the Collettes in Cagnes and had his house built there.
He no longer walks and works from a wheelchair.
Start of the sculpted collaboration with Richard Guino under the leadership of Ambroise Vollard.
Death of Aline Renoir; Andrée Heuschling soon enters the world of the workshop.
Completion of major ones Bathers, major work of the late period.
Commander of the Legion of Honor, visit to the Louvre, then death on December 3 in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Clearly distinguish the facts
Illness, disability and cause of death: the summary table
| Question | Careful response | What to avoid | Main source |
|---|---|---|---|
| At what age does Renoir die? | At age 78, December 3, 1919. | Round to 79 because we only subtract the years. | Musée d'Orsay, Grand Chancellery. |
| Where does he die? | In his Collettes property in Cagnes-sur-Mer. | Say Paris or Essoyes, where his grave is today. | Renoir Museum, Ministry of Culture. |
| What is the immediate cause? | Lung congestion according to biographies. | Invent a more precise modern diagnosis without a medical record. | Historical biographies. |
| What chronic illness did he have? | Severe rheumatoid arthritis, documented retrospectively. | Present arthritis as the sure cause of death. | BMJ, Musée d'Orsay. |
| Did he stop painting? | No. He adapts his workshop and works until the end. | Reduce all late work to a passive assistant gesture. | Musée d'Orsay, Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
Works from the store
Eight paintings to understand the last Renoir
Self-portrait with white hat
Renoir represents himself in maturity, without transforming the portrait into a complaint.
The Bathers
The monumental pictorial testament designed in the Collettes garden.
The Collettes Farm
The estate transformed into a landscape from the last period.
Olives with Collettes
The everyday pattern accessible from home and workshop.
Andrée in pink
Dédée embodies the revival of female figures after 1915.
Portrait of Coco
Claude, the youngest son, also participates in the life of the workshop.
Ode to flowers
A decorative vision where color retains all its energy.
Still life with apples
The close and stable pattern, ideal for workshop work.
Store collections
Explore Renoir, Cagnes and museums
Frequently asked questions
Renoir's death and final years in eight responses
How old was Auguste Renoir when he died?
He was 78 years old. Born February 25, 1841, he died December 3, 1919.
What illness did Renoir die of?
Biographies give pulmonary congestion as the immediate cause. His rheumatoid arthritis was a very debilitating chronic disease, but it should not be automatically confused with the final cause.
Where did Renoir die?
He died on his property in Les Collettes in Cagnes-sur-Mer, now transformed into the Renoir museum.
Was Renoir paralyzed?
Polyarthritis had greatly reduced his mobility and he used a wheelchair. He nevertheless maintained movements adapted to paint with the help of those around him.
Were his brushes attached to his hands?
Assistants placed or fixed the brush in his hand when necessary. The bandages visible in the photographs also served to protect the skin and were not just links for the brush.
What is Renoir's last great work?
The Bathers, painted between 1918 and 1919, are generally considered his pictorial testament.
Did Renoir paint until the day he died?
The testimonies insist on an activity maintained until the extreme end. It is certain that he was still working in 1919 despite his physical condition.
Where is Renoir buried?
His grave is in Essoyes, in Aube, with his family. His place of death, Cagnes-sur-Mer, should therefore not be confused with his place of burial.
Sources and verification
The references used for this article
A work stronger than the story of illness
Discover the latest Renoir
Explore the landscapes of Cagnes, the family portraits, still lifes and bathers that accompanied his last years.
0 comments