Description:

Monet Claude

Claude Monet ALS Recalling Sketches from Argenteuil, Vétheuil, and Pourville 2 Years before his Death

 

2pp autograph letter in French inscribed overall by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926), and signed by him as "Claude Monet" at the center of the second page. Written at Monet's home at Giverny, France on September 5, 1924. On cream bifold paper, with purple embossed "Giverny Par Vernon Eure" letterhead at upper right. Monet has written on the first and third pages of the bifold; the second and last pages are blank. Expected paper folds including a few with tiny closed tears. Else near fine. 5.25" x 8.125".

 

In this letter to art critic Félix Fénéon (1861-1944), Monet recalls pivotal information relating to several of his sketches, or "croquis".

 

Translated in part, with spelling mistakes silently corrected:

 

"5 Sepber 24

 

Dear Mr. Fénéon

 

Here is the information…The meat chop [sketch] if I'm not mistaken is from my aunt [illegible], '55 ou '56. The other sketch (Morning) was done at Pourville in '83.

 

When [illegible] photos, the one was done at Argenteuil arounds '73 or '74 and the other La Seine at Vetheuil, [in the] winter of '79.

 

Cordially yours,

 

Claude Monet".

 

Transcript, with unchanged spelling and punctuation:

 

"5 Sepbre 24

 

Cher Monsieur Fenéon

 

Voila les renseignements…La Cotelette si je ne me trompe est de ma tante [illegible], 55 or 56. l'autre croquis (Matiné) est fait à Pourville en 83.

 

Quand [illegible] photos l'une est faite à Argenteuil vers 73 our 74 et l'autre la seine à Vetheuil, hiver de 79.

 

Bien cordialmen à vous,

 

Claude Monet".

 

Claude Monet created some of his most memorable works at Argenteuil, Vétheuil, and Pourville: three places discussed in this letter.

 

Argenteuil, located about 15 km northwest of Paris, was the setting of at least 109 of Monet's works. There, he depicted pastel-colored views of regatta races as well as paintings of the famous bridge, city, and gardens.

 

Vétheuil, further afield from Paris towards the west, was depicted in at least 82 Monet paintings. These ranged in subject from views of plum trees and poppies, to the landscape in snow, fog, ice, and frost. Of especial significance for us is that fact that Monet completed at least 15 paintings of "la seine à Vétheuil", or the Seine River at Vétheuil.

 

Monet painted at least 42 oils on canvas depicting Pourville, located on the coast of Normandy. These paintings of sailboats, beaches at low tide, and seaside cliffs were primarily done around 1882, when Monet visited. The artist specified in the letter that the particular sketch of Pourville had been done in the morning ("Matiné[e]"); this was to differentiate it from other paintings that he did of the same setting at different times of day.

 

In the letter, Monet also mentions "ma tante." Could this have referred to Marie-Jeanne Lecadre, Monet's father's half-sister, who cared for Monet during his adolescence at her home at Sainte-Adresse? Lecadre was a significant person in Monet's life, providing the artist with affection, money, and influence after the death of his own mother in 1857.

 

The letter refers to sketches executed by Monet between 1855/56 and 1883. In this way, it encompasses a broad portion of Monet's career, from his days as a teenaged charcoal caricaturist in Le Havre, to his days as a well-established artist in the 1880s. One can imagine Monet, in the fall of 1924, being asked by an art critic to recall works from his earlier career. The octogenarian must have paused and reflected before drafting this letter. Fénéon's request for information was timely; Monet died of lung cancer two years after penning this letter, in December 1926.

 

Claude Monet is considered a foundational figure in the artistic movement known as Impressionism; indeed, his 1872 painting entitled Impression, Sunrise inadvertently determined the name of the school. Impressionists celebrated painting en plein air, or directly in the landscape. They were fascinated with documenting subtle changes observed 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 as significant as a religious painting or historical scene. Another aspect that differentiated the Impressionists from the established artists of the day was their method of painting. 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.

 

Monet's correspondent Félix Fénéon was born in Italy but educated in France. The art critic coined the term "Neo-Impressionists" to describe pointillist painter Georges Seurat and other modernists, and championed their work.

 

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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