Le Domaine des Collettes (as the property was known in the artist's time) was home and studio to an arthritis-crippled Renoir (1841–1919) from 1907 until his death. He lived there with his wife and three children, and the house is wonderfully evocative, despite being sparsely furnished.
The museum reopened in July 2013 after 18 months of renovations: new rooms such as the kitchen are now open to the public, and a new gallery was created in the basement to display Renoir's little-known sculptures.
The house contains a handful of original Renoir paintings, including Les Grandes Baigneuses (The Women Bathers; 1892), a reworking of the 1887 original. The museum also planned to start displaying unique archive documents such as photos and letters over the course of 2014.
The beautiful olive and citrus groves are as much an attraction as the museum itself.
