Impairment and disability: Renoir's adaptive coping strategies against rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was one of the most influential painters in art history, but few people know that he suffered from debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. Despite his arthritis, he was able to maintain an incredible level of precision and efficiency with his painting. More importantly, he remained positive and did not let his condition affect his passion for painting or take away from the beauty that he saw in the world around him. Renoir applied a wide variety of coping mechanisms and used his ingenuity to come up with different ways to continue painting even as his arthritis weakened him. Renoir's long battle with rheumatoid arthritis serves as an inspiration to patients who experience the pain and limited mobility associated with this disease, encouraging them to persevere and to develop coping mechanisms that prevent the effects of their impairment from disabling them. © 2012 American Association for Hand Surgery.