Destination: Côte d’Azur
Movie: Renoir (In French with Subtitles)
I’m a literary traveler–inspired by books, but also an art traveler, inspired by movies, artworks, museums and the lives of artists.
If anything will ever make you want to book a trip to the South of France, the movie Renoir certainly will. This is a movie that is all about beautiful. You can read my review at Reel Life with Jane to learn more about the plot and the actors, etc. but here at A Traveler’s Library, I just want to tell you about some of the opportunities for travel stirred up by this movie.
Provence
Renoir is not the only artist associated with Provence and its luscious scenery. You can read about possible art itineraries and events at Fantastic Province.
Cagnes-sur-Mer
This small town in the south of France between Nice and Cannes is the location of the Renoir estate used as the setting for the movie Renoir. There are other reasons to visit the town also, including the fact it is untouristed compared to other towns along the Mediterranean, and it has a Grimaldi castle. (They’re the rulers of Monaco, doncha know.)
The Renoir Home and Museum
If you can wait until July 2013, when renovations are done, you can visit the Renoir estate, Les Collettes, and see his studio as he left it. Even the wheelchair he used at the end of his life because of crippling arthritis stands in front of an easel. Before that date the collections from the museum are housed in the Grimaldi Museum in Cagnes-de-Mer. (See some photos of Les Collettes here.) After seeing the movie Renoir, I’m salivating to see the real thing.
The Barnes Collection, Philadelphia PA
Renoir may have never been in Philadelphia the largest collections of the work of Pierre Auguste Renoir can be viewed at the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia. Do a search there for Renoir, and you’ll find 10 pages of thumbnails of paintings–nearly 200 of them.
What a wonderful reason to go to Philadelphia.
Besides reading my review of Renoir at Reel Life With Jane, you can learn more about the movie Renoir, in this NPR interview with the director, Gilles Bourdos.
