L12006

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Lot 5
  • 5

Claude Monet

Estimate
2,200,000 - 3,200,000 GBP
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Description

  • Claude Monet
  • LA SEINE À BOUGIVAL
  • signed Claude Monet (lower left)

  • oil on canvas
  • 50 by 65cm.
  • 19 5/8 by 25 5/8 in.

Provenance

(possibly) Paul Dubois, Paris (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 28th November 1883, lot 32)
(possibly) Sale: Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 1884
Harcaut, Paris (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 23rd March 1898, lot 5)
Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (purchased at the above sale)
L.B. Bernard, Paris (acquired from the above on 3rd March 1900. Sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 11th May 1901, lot 46)
Galerie Thannhauser, Munich
Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Wilhelm Hansen, Copenhagen (acquired by 1918)
Prince Kojiro Matsukata, Japan (acquired by 1923)
Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired by February 1924)
Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the above on 14th March 1924)
Madame de la Chapelle (acquired from the above on 14th January 1937)
Arthur Tooth & Sons. Ltd., London
Richard Peto, London (acquired circa 1950. Sold: Christie's, London, 28th November 1972, lot 15)
Stephen Hahn, New York (purchased at the above sale)
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above)
Private Collection, USA (by descent from the above. Sold: Christie's, New York, 2nd May 2006, lot 16)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Paris, Durand-Ruel, Tableaux par Claude Monet, 1928, no. 11 (titled Embâcle de la Seine à Bougival)
Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Exposition de tableaux, Claude Monet de 1865 à 1888, 1935, no. 8 (titled La Seine à Rueil)
London, Tate Gallery, Claude Monet, 1957, no. 36, illustrated in the catalogue

Literature

Julius Meier-Graefe, Entwicklungsgeschichte der modernen Kunst, Berlin, 1914-15, illustrated  pl. 374
Gustave Geffroy, 'Claude Monet', in  L'Art et les artistes, Paris, 1920, no. 11, illustrated p. 71
Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet, biographie et catalogue raisonné, Lausanne & Paris, 1974, vol. I, no. 143, illustrated, p. 183
Paul Hayes Tucker, Monet at Argenteuil, New Haven, 1982, illustrated fig. 127
Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, Catalogue raisonné, Cologne, 1996, vol. II, no. 143, illustrated p. 69

Condition

The canvas is lined. Apart from some very minor retouchings towards the framing edges, some small retouchings in the upper left corner and a few very small flecks of retouching in the sky, all visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in very good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although tones are brighter and the greys have more blue in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

The subject of winter landscapes fascinated Monet throughout his career, and La Seine à Bougival is an outstandingly vivid early painting on this important theme. The artist's evocative palette of earthy tones finds a natural balance with the silvered sky enabling him to capture the gentle thaw of the last snowfall whilst the still ice-packed Seine is laden with glistening fresh snow. The preoccupation with snowy landscapes would extend to several of the Impressionist painters, including Alfred Sisley and Camille Pissarro (fig. 1), though Monet's effet de neige paintings are often viewed as the most successful examples of the theme (fig. 2). Writing about Monet's snow scenes, Eliza E. Rathbone observed: 'The Impressionists, and above all Monet, determined to record the complete spectrum: deep snow in brilliant sunshine, creating the bluest of blue shadows; snow under a low, grey winter sky that shrouds nature in a single tonality; landscapes so deep in snow that all details are obscured, evoking a silent world; even snow melting along a country road at sunset; or, perhaps most striking, a sky filled with snow falling. Of all the Impressionists, Monet painted the largest number of snowscapes and the greatest variety of site, time of day, quality of light, and quality of snow itself. He was not only interested in a relatively traditional conception of a snowy landscape, but he found beauty in unexpected phenomena of winter. He brought to his snowscapes his desire to experiment both with new technique and with formal invention' (E. E. Rathbone, 'Monet, Japonisme, and Effets de Neige', in Impressionists in Winter (exhibition catalogue), The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., 1998-99, p. 25).

La Seine à Bougival is one of five snowscapes Monet painted at Bougival during the winter of 1869-70. The present work depicts this small suburb west of Paris near the village of Saint-Michel where the artist and his family had settled earlier in the year, and the charming character of this community is suggested by the jaunty red flickers of paint that enliven the composition. The paintings he executed at this time were the first to employ the broken brush-marks, evident in the present work, which he used to successfully convey the ambience of his surroundings. In 1868, Léon Billot gave an account of Monet painting out-of-doors in the snow, a vivid proof of the artist's dedication to capturing the effects of light on the frozen landscape: 'It was during winter, after several snowy days, when communications had almost been interrupted. The desire to see the countryside beneath its white shroud had led us across the fields. It was cold enough to split rocks. We glimpsed a little heater, then an easel, then a gentleman swathed in three overcoats, with gloved hands, his face half-frozen. It was M. Monet studying an aspect of the snow' (L. Billot, 'Exposition des Beaux-Arts', in Journal du Havre, 9th October 1868). 

Fig. 1, Camille Pissarro, La Route de Versailles à Louveciennes, 1869, oil on canvas, The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore

Fig. 2, Claude Monet, La Route de la ferme Saint-Siméon en hiver, 1867, oil on canvas. Sold: Sotheby's, London, 5th February 2008