CLAUDE MONET
L’Été, Champ de Coquelicots, 1875
signed 'Claude Monet' (lower left)
oil on canvas
23 1/2 x 31 3/4 in. (59.7 x 80.6cm)
Painted in 1875, L’Été, Champs de Coquelicots dates from one of the most celebrated and commercially significant periods of Monet’s early career. Executed shortly after the landmark Impressionist exhibitions of the early 1870s, the painting exemplifies Monet’s fully articulated Impressionist language, in which color, light, and atmosphere supersede traditional compositional structure. Works from the Argenteuil years are widely regarded as foundational to the movement and are among the most sought after by leading collectors and institutions.
The painting was created during Monet’s residence in Argenteuil, an area of rural tranquility and beauty within close proximity to Paris. The composition is animated by vivid color, with red poppies and surrounding flora rendered in brisk, confident brushstrokes that impart a deliberately softened atmospheric effect. The inclusion of Camille Monet and their son Jean further enhances the rarity and significance of the work. Only four paintings depicting this precise scene are known: one in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; one formerly in the collection of Walter Annenberg and now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; one sold by Enid Haupt, Walter Annenberg’s sister, now held in a private collection; and the present work. While the Boston example is generally regarded as the strongest of the group, this painting closely approaches that level of quality and importance and represents the only example currently available to the market.
The early history of Impressionism is distinguished by intimate portrayals of Camille by Monet, as well as by Renoir and Manet, frequently set in the countryside around Argenteuil and infused with the plein air approach that was fundamental to the movement’s development. Among Monet’s most emblematic motifs of the 1870s and 1880s, poppy and wheat fields occupy a particularly prominent position, reflecting his radical commitment to painting directly from nature and his sustained exploration of transient light and atmosphere.
The painting was created during Monet’s residence in Argenteuil, an area of rural tranquility and beauty within close proximity to Paris. The composition is animated by vivid color, with red poppies and surrounding flora rendered in brisk, confident brushstrokes that impart a deliberately softened atmospheric effect. The inclusion of Camille Monet and their son Jean further enhances the rarity and significance of the work. Only four paintings depicting this precise scene are known: one in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; one formerly in the collection of Walter Annenberg and now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; one sold by Enid Haupt, Walter Annenberg’s sister, now held in a private collection; and the present work. While the Boston example is generally regarded as the strongest of the group, this painting closely approaches that level of quality and importance and represents the only example currently available to the market.
The early history of Impressionism is distinguished by intimate portrayals of Camille by Monet, as well as by Renoir and Manet, frequently set in the countryside around Argenteuil and infused with the plein air approach that was fundamental to the movement’s development. Among Monet’s most emblematic motifs of the 1870s and 1880s, poppy and wheat fields occupy a particularly prominent position, reflecting his radical commitment to painting directly from nature and his sustained exploration of transient light and atmosphere.
PROVENANCE
Ernest Chesneau, Paris. Galerie Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris (acquired from the above, 1881)
Charles Ephrussi, Paris (acquired from the above, 1882)
Carl and Félicie Bernstein, Berlin (acquired c. 1882)
Max Liebermann, Berlin (acquired c. 1908) by descent to his daughter
Kathe Riezler, Berlin and New York by whom sold c. 1952 to
Koerfer, Bern (acquired c. 1952)
Dr. Fritz Trüssel, Bern (acquired c. 1955)
Wildenstein & Co. Ltd., London
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 13 March 1976
EXHIBITIONS
Berlin, Gurlitts Kunstsalon, Exposition impressionniste, 1882
Berlin, Gurlitts Kunstsalon, Les Impressionnistes Parisiens, 1883
Kunsthaus Zurich, Claude Monet, May-June 1952, p. 21, no. 52.
Bern, Kunsthalle, Europaische Kunst aus Berner Privatbesitz, July-September 1953, no. 95
Winterthur, Kunstmuseum, Europaische Meister: 1790-1910, June-July, 1955, p. 41, no. 150
Lausanne, Palais de Beaulieu, Chefs-d'oeuvres des collections suisses de Manet à Picasso, May-October 1964, no. 43 (illustrated)
New York, Wildenstein & Co. Inc., Claude Monet: A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff, April-June 2007
Ernest Chesneau, Paris. Galerie Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris (acquired from the above, 1881)
Charles Ephrussi, Paris (acquired from the above, 1882)
Carl and Félicie Bernstein, Berlin (acquired c. 1882)
Max Liebermann, Berlin (acquired c. 1908) by descent to his daughter
Kathe Riezler, Berlin and New York by whom sold c. 1952 to
Koerfer, Bern (acquired c. 1952)
Dr. Fritz Trüssel, Bern (acquired c. 1955)
Wildenstein & Co. Ltd., London
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 13 March 1976
EXHIBITIONS
Berlin, Gurlitts Kunstsalon, Exposition impressionniste, 1882
Berlin, Gurlitts Kunstsalon, Les Impressionnistes Parisiens, 1883
Kunsthaus Zurich, Claude Monet, May-June 1952, p. 21, no. 52.
Bern, Kunsthalle, Europaische Kunst aus Berner Privatbesitz, July-September 1953, no. 95
Winterthur, Kunstmuseum, Europaische Meister: 1790-1910, June-July, 1955, p. 41, no. 150
Lausanne, Palais de Beaulieu, Chefs-d'oeuvres des collections suisses de Manet à Picasso, May-October 1964, no. 43 (illustrated)
New York, Wildenstein & Co. Inc., Claude Monet: A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff, April-June 2007
LITERATURE
G. Brandes, Japanesik og impressionistik Kunsthalle, Copenhagen, 1882
A. Lichtwark, "Die Pariser Impressionisten in Gurlitts Kunstsalon" in Die Gegenwart, 22 December 1883, p. 401
G. Brandes, Berlin som tysk Rigshovestad, Copenhagen, 1885, p. 538
C. Bernstein and F. Bernstein, Erinnerungen ihrer Freunde, Dresden, 1914, pp. 35, 43 and 48 (illustrated, pl. 6)
M. Liebermann, Gesammelte Schriften, Berlin, 1922, p. 124
J. Rewald, The History of Impressionism, New York, 1961
D. Wildenstein, Monet: Impressions, Milan, 1967, p. 39
D. Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, Lausanne, 1974, vol. I, pp. 276-277, no. 377 (illustrated, p. 277)
P.H. Tucker, Monet at Argenteuil, New Haven, 1982
R. Gordon and A. Forge, Monet, New York, 1983, p. 86 (illustrated)
Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection, exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1989, p. 51 (illustrated, fig. 86)
V. Spate, Monet: Life and Work, New York, 1992, p. 108
P.H. Tucker, Claude Monet: Life and Art, New Haven, 1995, p. 90, no. 98
D. Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné, Cologne, 1996, vol. I, p. 155, no. 377 (illustrated in color)
G.T. Natter and J.H. Schoeps, Max Liebermann, New York, 1997, pp. 200-201
DETAILS
MUSEUM COMPARABLES
Coquelicots, 1873
19 ½ x 23 ¾ in. (50 x 64.3 cm)
Museé d’Orsay, Paris
19 ½ x 23 ¾ in. (50 x 64.3 cm)
Museé d’Orsay, Paris
Champ de coquelicots près d'Argenteuil, 1875
21 ¼ x 29 in. (54 x 73.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
21 ¼ x 29 in. (54 x 73.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
La Prairie, 1879
32 x 39 ¼ in. (81.3 x 99.7 cm)
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha
32 x 39 ¼ in. (81.3 x 99.7 cm)
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha
Meadow with Poplars, 1875
54.6 x 65.4 cm (21 1/2 x 25 3/4 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
54.6 x 65.4 cm (21 1/2 x 25 3/4 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston