Renoir’s parents, Léonard and Marguerite, left Paris for Louveciennes in 1869. They settled at 17 rue de Voisins in the house known as the Pharmacie du Barry. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who often came to see them, loved the village. He would introduce it to his studio friends, such as Pissarro and Sisley.
The latter moved to the village in 1869 for Pissarro, in 1872 for Sisley. in the spring of 1869. Camille Pissarro took up residence at 22 route de Versailles, while Alfred Sisley established his quarters at 3 route de la Princesse.
Everyday life in the heart of this village preserved from the hustle and bustle of Parisian life, the effects of rain on the cobbles, the snow, the iridescence of the water in the Seine were all sources of inspiration for the three artists, who produced numerous paintings of the village.
Pissarro, who returned to Louveciennes in 1871 after leaving in 1870 with the arrival of the Prussians, found only a few of his 1,500 paintings. He moved into the house next to his former residence and resumed work, but his works sold poorly. He eventually left Louveciennes for Pontoise in April 1872.
Alfred Sisley left Louveciennes in 1874 to settle in Marly-le-Roi. His house was opposite the Abreuvoir; he painted it 17 times. It was in 1876 that he produced his famous paintings of the flooding of the Seine at Port-Marly.
