1386 - Claude Monet (1840, Paris – 1926, Giverny)

Claude Monet (1840, Paris – 1926, Giverny) Norman Rocky Coast This subtly sketched depiction of the gently sloping coastline with rocks and a calm, serene sea dates from the early period of this important Impressionist and was likely painted in the 1860s on location along the Normandy coast near Le Havre, where Monet had lived with his family since 1845. Using soft shades of gray, the artist impressively captures the rough texture of the rocks, while the smooth water’s surface is rendered with a flat horizon line. Claude Monet, who took drawing lessons from Jacques-François Ochard during his high school years (1851–1857), rejected the discipline of school early on and preferred to spend time by the sea, sketching in the harbor or on the cliffs. Even during this time, the painter Eugène Boudin took notice of the young Monet and advised him not to limit himself to drawing but to also devote himself to landscape painting in oil. Together with his mentor Boudin, Monet met the Dutch painter Johan Barthold Jongkind in 1862, whose influence also proved significant for Monet’s work. From 1862 to 1864, Monet attended the studio of Charles Gleyre in Paris, where Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille were among his classmates, and with whom he became close. Throughout the summer, Monet and Bazille, as well as Jongkind and Boudin, who joined them later, painted along the Normandy coast. Pencil on paper. Lower left and signature stamp (Lugt 1819b). Sheet size: 32.6 cm x 50.4 cm. Framed. Provenance: German private collection; according to tradition, acquired in the 1960s from the collection of Michel Monet (1878–1966), Giverny; has remained in the family ever since through inheritance. Pencil on paper. Stamped with the signature “Claude Monet” (Lugt 1819b). Provenance: Presumably from the collection of Michel Monet (1878–1966), Giverny. Acquired in the 1960s, thence by descent to the present owner in a private collection in Germany.