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Lot Essay
Located along the Normandy coast just west of Dieppe at Varengeville, the gorge of the Petit Ailly was first painted by Monet in 1882. During this excursion, he painted several versions of this dramatic setting and was lured back again almost fifteen years later to continue the series in 1896 and 1897. The small cabin that appears in many of these paintings was built as a customs house during the Napoleonic blockade of Europe; from this clifftop perch, officials could spot incoming cargo ships that needed to be intercepted and taxed. Later, the weathered cabin was used by local fishermen for storage and shelter (fig. 1).
Having managed to obtain the keys to the customs house to use it as a local resident, Monet was so pleased upon his return in 1896 that he told Alice Hoschedé, "it was just as I had left it" (P. Tucker, Claude Monet, Life and Art, London, 1995, p. 109). Indeed, Monet could identify with the local residents, as he was raised in nearby Le Havre and Sainte-Addresse. His love for the region is evident in his frequent representations of these towns as well as neighboring villages such as Trouville, Etretat, Deauville, and Dieppe. Unlike Monet's earlier paintings of bustling city boulevards, or the crowded beaches and boardwalks of fashionable seaside resorts, his Cabane des douaniers à Varengeville evokes a more innocent memory of the French countryside, where one could experience an authentic appreciation of nature.
According to Paul Tucker, Monet personally identified with such scenes:
In almost all of these views, Monet depicts the house as isolated and alone, vulnerable and steadfast, as if it were a human being... Whether blown by the winds or bathed in brilliant sunlight, the house also takes on the attributes of a landscape painter alone with his motifs, enduring the elements in order to be one with them much like Monet himself. (Ibid., pp. 107-109)
(fig. 1) Postcard of the Customs House at Varengeville, circa 1910.
Having managed to obtain the keys to the customs house to use it as a local resident, Monet was so pleased upon his return in 1896 that he told Alice Hoschedé, "it was just as I had left it" (P. Tucker, Claude Monet, Life and Art, London, 1995, p. 109). Indeed, Monet could identify with the local residents, as he was raised in nearby Le Havre and Sainte-Addresse. His love for the region is evident in his frequent representations of these towns as well as neighboring villages such as Trouville, Etretat, Deauville, and Dieppe. Unlike Monet's earlier paintings of bustling city boulevards, or the crowded beaches and boardwalks of fashionable seaside resorts, his Cabane des douaniers à Varengeville evokes a more innocent memory of the French countryside, where one could experience an authentic appreciation of nature.
According to Paul Tucker, Monet personally identified with such scenes:
In almost all of these views, Monet depicts the house as isolated and alone, vulnerable and steadfast, as if it were a human being... Whether blown by the winds or bathed in brilliant sunlight, the house also takes on the attributes of a landscape painter alone with his motifs, enduring the elements in order to be one with them much like Monet himself. (Ibid., pp. 107-109)
(fig. 1) Postcard of the Customs House at Varengeville, circa 1910.