Lot 3214* - A211 Art Impressionniste & Moderne - vendredi, 29. novembre 2024, 17h00
CLAUDE MONET
(Paris 1840–1926 Giverny)
Le bassin d'Argenteuil. 1875.
Oil on canvas.
Dated and signed lower right: 75 Claude Monet.
54 × 74 cm.
Provenance:
- Collection of Oskar Schmitz, Dresden, 1904.
- Kunsthaus Zürich, loan from 1931 (lender: Oskar Schmitz).
- Kunstmuseum Basel, loan from 1934 (lender: Oskar Schmitz estate).
- With Wildenstein & Co., London, from 1936.
- Mr. E.W. Fattorini, Great Britain, 1940.
- Sale Sotheby's, London, 16.4.1975, Lot 25.
- Private collection, England.
- Sale Sotheby's, London, 3.12.1991, Lot 22.
- Private collection, London, acquired at the above auction and then in family collection.
Exhibited:
- Ballingen 1992, Claude Monet, Stadthalle, 18.6.–31.8.1992, no. 6.
- Washington DC 1996/97, Impressionists on the Seine: A Celebration of Renoir's "Luncheon of Boating Party", Phillips Museum of Modern Art, 21.9.1996–23.2.1997, no. 39 (label verso)..
Literature:
- Paul Fechter: Die Sammlung Schmitz, in: "Kunst und Künstler: Illustrierte Monatsschrift für bildende Kunst und Kunstgewerbe", Berlin October 1909, p. 21.
- Karl Scheffler: Die Sammlung Oskar Schmitz in Dresden, in: "Kunst und Künstler: Illustrierte Monatsschrift für bildende Kunst und Kunstgewerbe", Berlin 1920/21, p. 186.
- Marie Dormoy: La collection Schmitz à Dresde, in: "L'Amour de l'art", Paris October 1926, p. 342.
- Daniel Wildenstein: Monet, vie et œuvre, Lausanne/Paris 1974, vol. I, p. 272 (with ill. p. 237).
- Joel Isaacson: Observation and Reflection. Cl. Monet, Oxford 1978, p. 207 (with ill. p. 95).
- Paul Hayes Tucker: Monet at Argenteuil, New Haven/London 1982, p. 120 (with ill. XXI).
- Daniel Wildenstein: Monet, vie et œuvre, Lausanne/Paris 1991, vol. V, p. 30 (with ill.).
MONET IN ARGENTEUIL
The small town of Argenteuil, which lies eleven kilometers west of Paris on the right bank of the Seine and where Claude Monet made this lively painting, is often associated with the beginnings of Impressionism today.
At the beginning of the 1870s, the town was a thriving suburb with around 8,000 inhabitants. Known locally as the “agréable petite ville,” it was a popular Sunday refuge from the hectic city for many Parisians. Despite the rapid industrialization that began with the construction of the railway bridge a few years earlier, the town still retained the charm of a postcard idyll. The suburb was particularly popular with those seeking relaxation who indulged in the newly fashionable passion for sailing.
Thanks to contacts made by his artist friend Édouard Manet, Monet was able to rent a house for himself and his family in Argenteuil towards the end of 1871. He set up a studio in the spacious glazed extension to his house, which is only a few minutes’ walk from the Seine. “I have met Monet often recently,” Boudin wrote to his art dealer in January 1872. “He has settled in well and seems determined to make a name for himself. I believe he is destined to take one of the leading positions in our school of painting.” (Tucker, 1995, p. 53)
“The fertile period of Argenteuil, which was to become the golden age of Impressionist painting,” (Wildenstein, 1996, p. 93) was initiated by Monet’s arrival, and when other painters such as Manet, Renoir, Sisley and Caillebotte followed Monet’s call, the city finally became the true center of the “New Painting”, its radical fault lines challenging the traditional norms of Parisian salons.
In the following years - Monet stayed in Argenteuil until 1878 - he quickly developed the innovative vocabulary of Impressionism. He dispensed with conventional techniques of modeling and elaboration of details and created works with the liveliness and energy of sketches. His quick, loose brushstrokes consciously captured the fleeting moments of nature and the rapidly changing light conditions, which he conjured in his atmospheric canvases “en plein air”, using a vibrant color palette.
During his time in Argenteuil, Monet found many different subjects, but the river remained his greatest source of inspiration. Between 1872 and 1875 he painted over fifty pictures portraying different areas of the Seine. Although the moods of these works range from calm to lively, they all have one thing in common: they offer him the chance to explore the theme of an orderly, modern suburb in which man and nature merge harmoniously.
“Le bassin d’Argenteuil” was completed in the late spring or summer of 1875, just one year after the groundbreaking first Impressionist exhibition, which introduced revolutionary plein air painting to a wide audience for the first time. On this warm day, Monet is walking along the Seine, where he chooses a quiet place to capture the atmosphere of the afternoon. Monet opts for an interesting view downstream from the Argenteuil harbor basin. On the left side you can see the lush green bank of Petit-Gennevilliers and at right a building that houses a boat rental business. A small bridge connects the two banks towards the front of the painting and sailing boats lie still in the harbor basin, their masts towering high. With expertly controlled brushwork, Monet creates a calm though animated landscape, forming a thoroughly wonderful picture through the various colors of his rapid brushstrokes. The yellowish-pink rays of sunlight push through the slightly cloudy sky and are reflected glitteringly in the water, while the area behind the building at right is in shadow, and the green bank is illuminated by the sun: a testament to Monet’s masterful use of light.
THE COLLECTOR OSKAR SCHMITZ
In addition to the technical features and the importance of this painting for Impressionism, the work also has strong provenance. “Le bassin d’Argenteuil” was sold to the important Dresden collector Oskar Schmitz via the Paris dealer Bernheim-Jeune.
"People came to Dresden to see the old gallery and the Schmitz collection on Emser Allee, by far the highest quality collection of French masters in Germany.” (Meier Graefe, Frankfurter Zeitung, 1932). Initially for investment reasons, later out of passion that turned into exceptional connoisseurship, Oskar Schmitz began to build up a significant art collection, beginning in the late 1890s, over a period of about 20 years. The focus was French art from the second half of the 19th century. Starting with Boudin, Courbet and Delacroix, through Monet, Renoir and Sisley, to van Gogh, Cézanne and Gauguin, his collection brings together all the great names of this era. He later expanded his collection to include German artists, Liebermann playing an important role among them. The collection, which comprises 96 works of art, was displayed in his own villa and could be viewed by the public. Much was written about the collection during the patron’s lifetime, and it is considered to be of particularly high quality both nationally and internationally. “No tentative attempts were made, there was no experimentation, and there is no revolutionary spirit. Rather, the collection is dominated by a lively conservative attitude. In other words, it has endeavored to bring together what has lasting validity.” (Scheffler, 1921, p. 190)
Due to tax harassment, Schmitz left Germany in 1931 and moved to Switzerland with his collection. He loaned a large number of the works, especially the important paintings by the French masters, to the Kunsthaus Zurich. “Le bassin d’Argenteuil” is one of five works by Claude Monet that Schmitz bought for his collection. The work was exhibited in the Kunsthaus in 1932 together with other works from Schmitz. When the collector died unexpectedly in 1933, all the works were sent by his heirs to the Kunstmuseum Basel, where the collection remained until around 1936. Wildenstein then took over 62 works and organized a collection auction. In this context, the present painting was sold to a private collection in England.
The small town of Argenteuil, which lies eleven kilometers west of Paris on the right bank of the Seine and where Claude Monet made this lively painting, is often associated with the beginnings of Impressionism today.
At the beginning of the 1870s, the town was a thriving suburb with around 8,000 inhabitants. Known locally as the “agréable petite ville,” it was a popular Sunday refuge from the hectic city for many Parisians. Despite the rapid industrialization that began with the construction of the railway bridge a few years earlier, the town still retained the charm of a postcard idyll. The suburb was particularly popular with those seeking relaxation who indulged in the newly fashionable passion for sailing.
Thanks to contacts made by his artist friend Édouard Manet, Monet was able to rent a house for himself and his family in Argenteuil towards the end of 1871. He set up a studio in the spacious glazed extension to his house, which is only a few minutes’ walk from the Seine. “I have met Monet often recently,” Boudin wrote to his art dealer in January 1872. “He has settled in well and seems determined to make a name for himself. I believe he is destined to take one of the leading positions in our school of painting.” (Tucker, 1995, p. 53)
“The fertile period of Argenteuil, which was to become the golden age of Impressionist painting,” (Wildenstein, 1996, p. 93) was initiated by Monet’s arrival, and when other painters such as Manet, Renoir, Sisley and Caillebotte followed Monet’s call, the city finally became the true center of the “New Painting”, its radical fault lines challenging the traditional norms of Parisian salons.
In the following years - Monet stayed in Argenteuil until 1878 - he quickly developed the innovative vocabulary of Impressionism. He dispensed with conventional techniques of modeling and elaboration of details and created works with the liveliness and energy of sketches. His quick, loose brushstrokes consciously captured the fleeting moments of nature and the rapidly changing light conditions, which he conjured in his atmospheric canvases “en plein air”, using a vibrant color palette.
During his time in Argenteuil, Monet found many different subjects, but the river remained his greatest source of inspiration. Between 1872 and 1875 he painted over fifty pictures portraying different areas of the Seine. Although the moods of these works range from calm to lively, they all have one thing in common: they offer him the chance to explore the theme of an orderly, modern suburb in which man and nature merge harmoniously.
“Le bassin d’Argenteuil” was completed in the late spring or summer of 1875, just one year after the groundbreaking first Impressionist exhibition, which introduced revolutionary plein air painting to a wide audience for the first time. On this warm day, Monet is walking along the Seine, where he chooses a quiet place to capture the atmosphere of the afternoon. Monet opts for an interesting view downstream from the Argenteuil harbor basin. On the left side you can see the lush green bank of Petit-Gennevilliers and at right a building that houses a boat rental business. A small bridge connects the two banks towards the front of the painting and sailing boats lie still in the harbor basin, their masts towering high. With expertly controlled brushwork, Monet creates a calm though animated landscape, forming a thoroughly wonderful picture through the various colors of his rapid brushstrokes. The yellowish-pink rays of sunlight push through the slightly cloudy sky and are reflected glitteringly in the water, while the area behind the building at right is in shadow, and the green bank is illuminated by the sun: a testament to Monet’s masterful use of light.
THE COLLECTOR OSKAR SCHMITZ
In addition to the technical features and the importance of this painting for Impressionism, the work also has strong provenance. “Le bassin d’Argenteuil” was sold to the important Dresden collector Oskar Schmitz via the Paris dealer Bernheim-Jeune.
"People came to Dresden to see the old gallery and the Schmitz collection on Emser Allee, by far the highest quality collection of French masters in Germany.” (Meier Graefe, Frankfurter Zeitung, 1932). Initially for investment reasons, later out of passion that turned into exceptional connoisseurship, Oskar Schmitz began to build up a significant art collection, beginning in the late 1890s, over a period of about 20 years. The focus was French art from the second half of the 19th century. Starting with Boudin, Courbet and Delacroix, through Monet, Renoir and Sisley, to van Gogh, Cézanne and Gauguin, his collection brings together all the great names of this era. He later expanded his collection to include German artists, Liebermann playing an important role among them. The collection, which comprises 96 works of art, was displayed in his own villa and could be viewed by the public. Much was written about the collection during the patron’s lifetime, and it is considered to be of particularly high quality both nationally and internationally. “No tentative attempts were made, there was no experimentation, and there is no revolutionary spirit. Rather, the collection is dominated by a lively conservative attitude. In other words, it has endeavored to bring together what has lasting validity.” (Scheffler, 1921, p. 190)
Due to tax harassment, Schmitz left Germany in 1931 and moved to Switzerland with his collection. He loaned a large number of the works, especially the important paintings by the French masters, to the Kunsthaus Zurich. “Le bassin d’Argenteuil” is one of five works by Claude Monet that Schmitz bought for his collection. The work was exhibited in the Kunsthaus in 1932 together with other works from Schmitz. When the collector died unexpectedly in 1933, all the works were sent by his heirs to the Kunstmuseum Basel, where the collection remained until around 1936. Wildenstein then took over 62 works and organized a collection auction. In this context, the present painting was sold to a private collection in England.
CLAUDE MONET
CHF 2 000 000 / 3 000 000 | (€ 2 061 860 / 3 092 780)