Description:

Claude Monet ALS Re: Financial Donation for Monument Dedicated to Friend & Fellow Impressionist Joseph Delattre

A 1p autograph letter in French signed by Impressionist artist Claude Monet (1840-1926) as "Claude Monet" at lower center. Dated March 15, 1920. Pencil-inscribed on bifold stationery paper with "Giverny Par Vernon Eure" embossed in purple at upper right. Expected light paper folds and isolated foxing. The inner pages are blank. Minor weathering to the last page, else near fine. 5.125" x 8.125." Provenance: Ex-Noel Goldblatt (ca. 1926-2003) of the famous Goldblatt's Department Store, to a prominent Los Angeles, California collector.

Claude Monet wrote this letter to an unknown correspondent, translated in full:

"15 March 1920

Sir,

I address to you, enclosed, my offering for the monument [dedicated to] the painter Delattre.

Please receive, I beg you, the assurance of my distinguished sentiments.

Claude Monet."

*Please note that Monet's financial contribution referred to in the original letter is not included with this lot.

Monet was almost certainly referring to a sculpture or other memorial celebrating Joseph Delattre (1858-1912), Monet's late friend and fellow Impressionist artist. Delattre was closely affiliated with the Rouen School. This city in Normandy was where Monet completed one of his most famous painting series depicting the Cathedral of Rouen at and in different times of the day, year, and weather. In 1895, Delattre established a Free Academy in Rouen which regularly hosted artistic outings into the landscape, canvas, brushes, and easel in tow. Although we could find no immediate reference to such a monument dedicated to Joseph Delattre from the 1920s, we consider it definitely worthy of further research.

Monet is inextricably linked with the artistic movement known as Impressionism. Indeed, his 1872 painting "Impression, Sunrise" gave its name to the revolutionary new school of painting. Impressionists painted en plein air, or directly in the landscape. They were fascinated with documenting subtle changes in the landscape at different times of the day, during different seasons, and in different weather conditions. No subject was too mundane for the Impressionists; a haystack coated in frost or a pair of battered old shoes were just as significant as a religious painting or a historical scene. Impressionists painted quickly, often using rapid and fluid brush strokes. In this way, their work was much more spontaneous, in spirit and form, than those sanctioned by the Academy. Monet's unique handwriting, with its series of disconnected vertical lines and flowing direction, resembles painting in more ways than traditional writing.

Claude Monet lived at Giverny, a village in Normandy located 76 km north of Paris, between 1883 and his death in 1926. During his residency there, Monet added a studio, expanded his gardens, and constructed a Japanese inspired foot bridge. His home was a combination of the sophisticated and rustic; in the kitchen furnished with plain table and chairs, the yellow-painted walls were decorated with vivid Japanese woodblock prints.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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