[MONET CLAUDE]: (1840-1926) French Impressionist painter. MIRBEAU OCTAVE (1848-1917) French novelist and art critic. A good A.L.S., Octave Mirbeau, two pages (written to the first and third sides of the bifolium), 8vo, n.p., n.d., to Claude Monet, in French. Mirbeau writes in his typically small and neat hand and states in part ` Nos tapissiers partent ce soir. Il ne nous reste plus que quelques vagues ouvriers qui, a leur tour, vont prendre leur vol. Et nous allons enfin être chez nous. Mais c´est le nettoyage qui va commencer, et ce n´est pas une petite affaire, non plus. Hier, j´ai placé mes tableaux. Alice a peint le cadre de votre mer de Varangeville. C´est délicieux. Et la toile a gagné cent pour cent...´ (Translation: " Our upholsterers are leaving this evening. We only have a few workers left who, time for them too, will leave promptly. And we will finally be home. But the cleaning is about to begin, and it's not a small matter either. Yesterday, I placed my paintings. Alice painted the frame of your Sea of Varangeville. It is delicious. And the painting has improved one hundred percent...") Mirbeau refers to a painting by Monet at Varangeville, where Monet spent some journeys in 1882. Further, Mirbeau states ` A la minute où je vous écris. sur le chemin qui longe le fleuve, il y a un peintre qui travaille à un immense passage, depuis la pointe du jour... Serez-vous libre dimanche? Dimanche nous irons vous demander à déjeuner. Ce sera pour moi une joie grande de vous voir, et de rafraichir un peu mes idées à votre âme d´artiste, car mes idées sont terriblement poudreuses aussi, et elles ont besoin d´un fort nettoyage, comme mes meubles. ... A dimanche donc, mon cher Monet, si vous n´avez pas d´empêchement... Il parait que nous avons failli avoir M. Pelouse pour voisin direct. J´apprends aujourd´hui qu´il vient de louer une petite maison á Léri, à quatre kilomètres d´ici. Mais que de peintres, bon Dieu!´ (Translation: " As I write to you. on the path that runs along the river, there is a painter who has been working on a huge passage, since daybreak... Will you be free on Sunday? On Sunday we will ask you for lunch. It will be a great joy for me to see you, and to refresh my ideas a little with your artistic soul, because my ideas are terribly powdery too, and they need a lot of cleaning, like my furniture. ... See you Sunday then, my dear Monet, if you have no problem... It seems that we almost had Mr. Pelouse as a direct neighbour. I learned today that he has just rented a small house in Léri, four kilometers from here. What a number of painters, good God!") In very fine condition. VG to EX Leon Germain Pelouse (1838-1891) French landscaping Painter. A member of the Barbizon group and a leading member of the Cernay group.