The Renoir museum is placed in the heart of a beautiful estate in Cagnes-sur-Mer, planted with olive and citrus trees offering a breathtaking view down the Cape of Antibes. It was the retreat and final address of the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who moved to Cagnes in an attempt to improve his arthritis. The museum's collection ; painting, scultpures, artist's studio and furniture constitute the testimony of Renoir's last 12 years of life spent in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
In 1908, Renoir settled in the Collettes. Seduced by the climate, he enjoyed painting outside, reproducing on his canvas the bright colours of the olive trees, fruits and flowers of the region as well as the voluptuous bodies of the young Cagnoises that lived here. Also, it is in Cagnes that he started sculpting for the first time. The happiness that comes out of Renoir paintings is due to the exaltation and felicity that the painter kept until his last day despite the weakness that overcame his body, when he became very ill.The Renoir Museum reproduces the exact environment that the painter knew, displaying some of his canvas, furniture, and familiar objects.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.