3221 - HENRY MORET

HENRY MORET (Cherbourg 1856–1913 Paris) View of the Rospico Cove. 1904. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower left: Henry Moret / 1904. 65.5 × 92.5 cm. Certificate: Jean-Yves Rolland, Paris, October 16, 2026. Provenance: - Paul Durand-Ruel, Paris, no. 7853 (label on the reverse). - Private collection, Belgium, acquired at Art Brussels in 2015. Exhibited: Paris 1959, Rétrospective Henry Moret, Galerie Durand-Ruel, March 3–21, 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 toward the Synthetist movement centered in the village toward the end of the 19th century. Before long, however, he moved away from its deliberately constructed, flat compositions toward 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 as well. The sea and sky meet at the horizon without merging, held apart by subtle gradations of blue. Moret’s masterful eye for color is evident throughout. The ochre of the granite rocks on the right is echoed by the pile of seaweed on 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 grayish white of the clouds and sea spray finds its counterpart in the stones of the wall and the neckerchief of the worker on the far left. Moret transforms an everyday scene into an atmospheric, timeless yet deeply personal image of Breton life and nature. “It is the cohesive and sincere work of a contemplative artist enamored with the sea, who knows how to express what he loves in a marvelous way.” (Henry Éon, quoted in: Ambroise, Henry Moret, 2021, p. 104). * The full tax is charged on this item marked *; that is, VAT is charged on the total amount but will be refunded to purchasers who provide a validly stamped export declaration.