Summer in Essoyes: Vernissage a la Maison Renoir
June 26, 2019 at 1:53 pm Leave a comment
Well it’s true, il faisait chaud. It was a bit hot, but that didn’t stop the mayor of Essoyes and the team at Du Cote des Renoir from hosting a lovely event at the Maison Renoir last night.
The occasion was the official opening of a very special exhibition that is being held there this summer. And there were some very special guests there to celebrate the event, most notably Emmanuel Renoir, a great-grandson of the painter, and Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel, a great-grandson of the famous dealer of fine art, and early champion of the Impressionists (of whom Claude Monet said, ” Without Durand, we would have starved, all of us…We owe him everything.”)
The exhibition is entitled “Evocation de l’exposition Renoir de 1934 par Paul Rosenberg” (“An Evocation of the 1934 Paul Rosenberg Renoir Exhibition”). The exhibition in 1934, which featured works from Rosenberg’s personal collection as well as paintings loaned by Jean and Claude Renoir, presented works of Renoir from the years 1909-1919 in M. Rosenberg’s Parisian gallery at 21 rue de la Boétie.
The current exhibition in the Maison Renoir in Essoyes includes one original Renoir painting, a 1910 portrait of Paul Durand-Ruel. In addition there are several original photographs of the 1934 Paris exhibition loaned by the Paul Rosenberg Archives in New York, and some very good reproductions of several of the other works that were in the 1934 exhibition, pleasingly displayed. Also on view now, as a permanent part of the Maison Renoir collection, there is a 1918 bronze sculpture (“La Danseuse au voile”), a gift of the Galerie Michael of Beverly Hills and of Emmanuel Renoir.
After welcoming remarks by Mayor Alain Cintrat, M. Philippe Pichery (président de Conseil departmental de l’Aube), Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel, Emmanuel Renoir, and Francoise Tellier (responsible de la communication du côté des Renoir), the guests were invited to enjoy the exhibition.
Emmanuel Renoir standing on the porch of the family home, now restored and open to the public, thanks Mayor Alain Cintrat and other dignitaries.
After that, of course there was champagne! (There always is, in Champagne!) And there were hor-d’oeuvres that were as exquisitely beautiful as they were delicious.
The exhibition continues through October 30. But you’ll probably want to come to Essoyes on July 7 to see Essoyes a la Belle Epoque, won’t you?
Sure, you will…
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the U.S. and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and is currently working on her next book, a literary memoir entitled “A Long Way from Iowa.”
Entry filed under: About Essoyes, Uncategorized. Tags: art, Aube, champagne, du Cote des Renoir, essoyes, Essoyes a la Belle Epoque, France, Maison Renoir, Paul Durand-Ruel, Paul Rosenberg, Paul Rosenberg 1934, Renoir, Route d'Impressionisme, tourism, travel.
Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road 
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