72 - Auguste RENOIR (1841–1919). “The Chapel of Saint Anne, Cagnes, circa 1900.”

Auguste RENOIR (1841–1919). “The Chapel of Saint Anne, Cagnes, circa 1900.” Oil on canvas, signed in the lower left corner with the studio stamp. Renoir Studio Inventory, Volume 1, Paris 1912, plate 72, number 227. 29 x 33 cm. The Chapel of Cagnes, also known as the Chapel of Notre-Dame in Cagnes, 1900. Oil on canvas. Studio stamp in the lower left corner. 29 × 33 cm. This work will be included in the upcoming digital catalog raisonné of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, currently in preparation under the auspices of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute. This work is accompanied by a copy of the confirmation letter from Mr. François Daulte dated April 24, 1990, as well as a copy of the certificate issued by Claude Renoir, Mr. Martini, and André Pacitti, dated April 25, 1954. Inscriptions on the back of the stretcher: “guarantee nos. 2660 and 2664,” no. 2353. €90,000 / €150,000 PROVENANCE - Estate of Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Private collection, Cannes (c. 1960) - Private collection, by descent. BIBLIOGRAPHY - Guy-Patrice Dauberville and Michel Dauberville, *Renoir: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Pastels, Drawings, and Watercolors*, Éditions Bernheim-Jeune, Poitiers, 2010, vol. III, illustrated on p. 178 under no. 2013, titled “Chapelle de Cagnes (unfinished).” - Albert André and Marc Elder, Renoir’s Studio, Paris, Bernheim-Jeune, 1931, listed on p. 234 and illustrated on plate 72, under number 227, titled “Chapelle de Cagnes (unfinished).” - Albert André and Marc Elder, *L'Atelier de Renoir*, reprint, 1989, listed on p. 234 and illustrated on plate 72, under number 227, titled “Chapelle de Cagnes (unfinished).” This work was kept in Renoir’s studio at the time of his death. It was in 1882 that Renoir discovered the South of France while visiting his friend Paul Cézanne. They painted together in Marseille and at L’Estaque. In 1907, Renoir purchased the Domaine des Collettes in Cagnes; there he had a house built and laid out a Mediterranean garden. It would become his winter residence, which he alternated with his Paris apartment and his house in Essoyes. There he painted the Mediterranean coast, from Italy (Bordighera) to the Alpes-Maritimes (Beaulieu, Nice, Grasse, Cagnes-sur-Mer and its surroundings), including the Var (Le Lavandou) and the Bouches-du-Rhône (l’Estaque). A letter addressed to his patron Paul Bérard in 1883 attests to his fascination with the Mediterranean light. The Chapel of Our Lady of Protection, located in Haut-de-Cagnes, demonstrates the extent to which Renoir achieved absolute mastery of light, atmosphere, and color. The shifting shadows cast by the walls and vegetation are suggested by brushstrokes that allow the white undercoat to show through, while the winter sun, glancing off the facades and the bell tower, shimmers in shades of carmine, orange, and violet. Crowning the ancient alleyways, the chapel would be depicted by Renoir on at least three occasions. During the last twenty years of his life, the painter focused on small-scale works, which were sold with ease by the dealers Vollard and Durand-Ruel. EXPERT: CHANOIT Gallery