126 - MONET (Claude)

MONET (Claude) Autograph letter signed “Claude Monet” to Gustave Geffroy. London, March 29, 1901. 3 pp. in-8, printed letterhead of the “Savoy Hotel”; envelope preserved. “My dear friend, I’ve been meaning to write to you for quite some time now to remind you of me, for we hardly ever see each other anymore (since that evening we spent together at the racetrack [sic], when you so kindly promised to visit me in Giverny—that’s all over now, and it seems like such a long time ago). In short, if it weren’t for work, I would have written to you long ago, but then I fell ill and had no heart for anything. YES, I’VE BEEN SICK HERE FOR THREE WEEKS WITH PLEURISY, WHICH I CAUGHT WHILE TRYING TO WORK ONE EVENING IN A TERRIBLE DRAFT that got the better of my robust constitution. Three weeks in this hotel room without being able to work, NOT EVEN HAVING THE HEART TO LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL TAMISE, SEEING SO MUCH EFFORT WASTED. And on top of that, I didn’t want to let my illness show too much in Giverny, where my poor wife was also dealing with her son being very ill at the same time. Anyway, I’m perfectly fine now; I went out for the first time today, and in four or five days, if the weather warms up, I’ll hurry back to be pampered by my loved ones, who’ve been so worried. I haven’t heard a thing from you, dear friend, except occasionally through newspaper clippings where your name appears alongside mine, and then AN ARTICLE YOU WROTE ABOUT MANET AT THE LOUVRE, WHICH I ENJOYED [Claude Monet had organized the fundraising campaign that made it possible in 1890 to add Édouard Manet’s *Olympia* to the public collections; initially housed at the Musée du Luxembourg, the painting would be kept at the Louvre starting in 1907]. I haven’t heard anything from Mirbeau either; in short, I feel like an exile. May these lines prompt you to send me a note to Giverny—it would be such a pleasure to find it upon my return, especially if you were to announce your next visit in it. Best regards to Clemenceau and Mirbeau. Your faithful Claude Monet. I very much hope to be in Giverny sometime next week. ” Views of the Thames: Claude Monet, who had already visited England, made three consecutive trips to London to paint views of the Thames—in the fall of 1899, in February 1900, and from January to April 1901. Working tirelessly and adapting to variations in light and changes in the weather, he painted nearly 80 canvases in London, which he completed in his studio in Giverny in 1903 and early 1904. He would exhibit them at Durand-Ruel in May and June 1904, during an exhibition that would cement his fame to such an extent that it was said to rival the Salon all on its own. The London period is considered the pinnacle of Monet’s painting, due to his exploration of the dissolution of forms into swaths of color, inspired by the hallucinatory effect of the famous London fog. A close friend of Claude Monet, the writer and art critic Gustave Geffroy (1855–1926) was one of those who, at the time, expressed the most insightful ideas about Monet’s art, particularly regarding the novelty of painting in series. He published a biography of the painter in 1922. Gustave Geffroy replied with a regretful letter in which he apologized, acknowledging that he was leading a “truly wild life,” recalled his friendship with Claude Monet, and reaffirmed his intention to visit him at his estate in Giverny (letter sold at public auction on December 13, 2006, at Artcurial in Paris; lot no. 118 in the catalog). Expert: Mr. Alain NICOLAS