56 - Claude MONET (1840–1926). Autograph letter to Gustave Geffroy, May 8, 1920. 1 pp., small in-4, written in violet ink, addressed to him in Giverny via Vernon, Eure.

Claude MONET (1840–1926). Autograph letter to Gustave Geffroy, May 8, 1920. 1 pp., small in-4, written in violet ink, addressed to him in Giverny via Vernon, Eure. A beautiful and significant letter on Eugène Boudin as Claude Monet’s mentor and the Impressionist movement. “My dear Geffroy, You truly still take an interest in me. I am flattered, but this is primarily about BOUDIN. On this point, regarding my relationship with the ‘King of the Skies,’ I believe I have already told you: I consider Eugène Boudin to be my master. It’s true, I met Boudin—who was, I believe, fifteen years my senior—in Le Havre, at a time when I was striving to make a name for myself as a caricature painter. It’s true that at the time, I was about fifteen years old. I was known as such throughout the city of Le Havre. I charged between 10 and 20 francs for my portraits and signed them “Oscar,” my other first name. I often exhibited them alongside Boudin’s paintings, which I didn’t appreciate at first, steeped as I was in academic principles. TROYON and MILLET also frequented the exhibition space. One day, Boudin said to me: “You’re talented; give up this work—it will wear you out. Your sketches are excellent. You’re not going to stop here. Do as I do: learn to draw well and admire the sea, the light, and the blue sky.” I followed this advice, and together we took long walks during which I never stopped painting from life. That is how I came to understand nature, learned to love it passionately, and developed an interest in the light-toned style characteristic of BOUDIN. We must not forget that he had been taught by a master, Jongkind, whose work—especially his watercolors—is, along with that of Corot, at the origin of what has been called Impressionism.”