3221 - HENRY MORET

HENRY MORET (Cherbourg 1856–1913 Paris) Vue de l'Anse de Rospico. 1904. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower left: Henry Moret / 1904. 65.5 × 92.5 cm. Certificate: Jean-Yves Rolland, Paris, 16 October 2026. Provenance: - Paul Durand-Ruel, Paris, no. 7853 (label on verso). - Private collection, Belgium, acquired at Art Brussels in 2015. Exhibited: Paris 1959, Rétrospective Henry Moret, Galerie Durand-Ruel, 3–21 March 1959, no. 36. We thank Jean-Yves Rolland for confirming the authenticity of the work. Few artists of his generation evoke Brittany as vividly as Henry Moret. Living near Pont-Aven in southern Finistère, he naturally gravitated towards the Synthetist movement centred on the village towards the end of the 19th century. Before long, however, he moved away from its deliberately constructed, flat compositions towards a more Impressionist approach. He sought to capture the authentic sensations of nature and Breton life: shimmering light and the interplay between permanence and transience, solid matter and flowing water. While fellow artists eventually left Brittany, it remained at the heart of Moret's life and work. He would spend days at a time on the water observing sardine fishermen, or on land, seated at the edge of the cliffs, watching the ebb and flow of the waves or the seaweed gatherers (les goémoniers) at work. Perhaps this explains why his paintings feel so authentic and immediate, yet also poetic and intimate. In the large-format ‘Vue de l’Anse de Rospico’, a group of men and women rest after their day's work. The reddish seaweed gathered from the sea lies piled on the shore. Bathed in gentle light, the workers radiate a solemn calm. Apart from a few harmless crests of foam where the waves break at the mouth of the bay, the sea is tranquil too. Sea and sky meet at the horizon without merging, held apart by subtle gradations of blue. Moret's masterful eye for colour is evident throughout. The ochre of the granite rocks at the right is echoed by the pile of seaweed at the left and reflected in the workers' faces and hands. The blue of the water reappears in the women's aprons and headscarves, while the greyish white of the clouds and sea spray finds its counterpart in the stones of the wall and the neckerchief of the worker at far left. Moret transforms an everyday scene into an atmospheric, timeless yet deeply personal image of Breton life and nature. ‘C’est l’œuvre homogène et sincère d’un contemplatif épris de la mer et qui sait merveilleusement exprimer ce qu’il aime.’ (Henry Éon, quoted in: Ambroise, Henry Moret, 2021, p. 104). * The full tax is charged on this item marked *, i.e. VAT is charged on the sum will be refunded to Purchasers providing a validly stamped export declaration.