Cats. 22–23  Étretat, 1885

Monet Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago

Top area shows green water with white foam near the shore. Across the middle, several boats with tall masts rest on land, with hulls in red, dark blue and green, and bright yellow. In the foreground, three large dark huts with steep blue‑gray roofs dominate, with a partially visible boat at the bottom left and a few round containers and planks nearby; these huts are the largest elements. On the far right, a tall tan‑and‑gray wall borders the scene from mid‑height to the bottom edge.

Cat. 22

Boats on the Beach at Étretat^[1]
1885^[2]
Oil on canvas; 65.5 × 81.3 cm (25 3/4 × 32 in.)
Signed: Claude Monet (lower right, in red-brown paint)
The Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection, 1947.95

Technical Report
Provenance
Exhibition History
Selected References
Other Documentation

Top shows a pale gray-blue sky above a wide green sea dotted with many sailboats carrying dark red-brown sails, largest near the left and smaller toward the horizon. Across the middle, a light beige-pink shore holds clusters of small, indistinct people and several boats, including a yellow one near the right. In the foreground, three large dark huts with blue-gray roofs and scattered planks fill the lower area, while a stone building with green shutters stands along the right edge.

Cat. 23

The Departure of the Boats, Étretat^[3]
1885
Oil on canvas; 73.5 × 93 cm (28 15/16 × 36 19/16 in.)
Signed and dated: Claude Monet 85 (lower left corner, name in orange-red paint, year in reddish-brown paint)
The Art Institute of Chicago, Potter Palmer Collection, 1922.428

Technical Report
Provenance
Exhibition History
Selected References
Other Documentation

Room with a View: Hôtel Blanquet

Claude Monet first painted Étretat, a tourist site with a local fishing fleet, during the winter of 1868–69. He undertook a major painting campaign there in 1883; he returned in 1885 and again in February 1886 for a final, abbreviated trip.^[4] Located fifteen miles up the coast from Le Havre, Étretat was both accessible and challenging for the artist, offering at once spectacular views but also dangerously steep cliffs of flinty rock chiseled by crashing waves. Monet returned from his autumn 1885 campaign with fifty-one canvases,^[5] the majority of which featured the Falaise d’Amont (see cat. 21), the Falaise d’Aval, and the Aiguille (lit. “needle,” a pointed rock formation)—dramatic subjects that had appealed to earlier artists including Eugène Isabey and Gustave Courbet.^[6] Following the procedure he had developed to research sites chosen for their remoteness as well as for their artistic potential, Monet consulted popular guidebooks to locate the most picturesque views. At the same time, he ignored any sign of the tourist culture for which the descriptions were written, scheduling his trips to begin when the vacationers had departed and the beach reclaimed by local fishermen.^[7]1

The inclement weather of the off-season sometimes kept Monet indoors, but he was still able to find workable motifs. As he mentioned in a letter to his companion, Alice Hoschedé, “In the afternoon, I worked in my room on my caloges seen in the rain, then I attempted to do, always through the window, a picture of the boats departing. . . . I want to complete a number of canvases, and I want to return.”^[8] The paintings he worked on during the 1885 trip include the Art Institute’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat and The Departure of the Boats, Étretat. They both show the view looking down from the top floor of the Hôtel Blanquet, where he stayed from mid-October through mid-December 1885 (fig. 1 and fig. 2).^[9] Depicting the narrow strip of beach visible from his hotel room, these are the only paintings from the 1885 campaign to show the stone building (possibly a customs warehouse) to the right of the hotel (and at the right edge in the paintings). This structure was still standing in 1920 when Henri Matisse painted it from a similar viewpoint in his painting, Les caloges, Étretat.^[10] Because the paintings do not share the same scale—The Departure of the Boats, Étretat is a size 30 portrait format, while Boats on the Beach at Étretat is smaller, a size 25 portrait, both turned horizontally—they are not pendants but instead a pairing, two works that share subject, season, vantage point, palette, and manner of conception (see Technical Reports, cat. 22, cat. 23).^[11] By this point in Monet’s career, once he had painted the essentials of a given motif, a critical second stage followed back in the studio, where the artist strived to align his compositions with his self-imposed aesthetic demands.2

Left to center-left, a narrow four-story white building labeled “HOTEL BLANQUET” has small balconies and large windows, with another tall-windowed building partly behind it. From center to right, white cliffs and gray hills rise in the background, while several low sheds with dark sloped roofs fill the middle ground and a large boat-like structure sits at the far right; a teal postage stamp appears near the upper right. In the foreground, a dirt area holds one adult in a long light dress near the hotel and three adults standing together near the sheds; printed text along the bottom reads “ÉTRETAT. — L’Hôtel Blanquet. — LL.” — Fig. 1

Postcard of the Hôtel Blanquet.

Left side shows a tall, multi‑story hotel with a rooftop flag; the word “HOTEL” is visible on its facade, and a few small figures stand near the entrance. In the center foreground, several medium-size boats rest on the sand with dark covers, with more tiny figures gathered around them. To the right, a curved shoreline meets calm water where many small figures stand or wade, and a few boats sit offshore; large rocky cliffs and scattered buildings span the background. The scene is rendered in light brown tones on a tan background, with the hotel and cliffs appearing largest and the people depicted very small. — Fig. 2

The Hôtel Blanquet at Étretat, from Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de L’ouest, *Album-guide illustré des voyages circulaires, Côtes de Normandie* (Paris, 1881), p. 39.

“My Caloges”

Monet painted the majority of his earlier (1883) boat and beachscape compositions from the beach or the stone dock (perrey, or perré); one exception is Fishing Boats (fig. 3 [W823]), which shows the same elevated viewpoint, roiling sea, and shoreline punctuated by boats as the 1885 compositions.^[12] It was also painted in bad weather, and from a window of the Hôtel Blanquet, although from a slightly different orientation and from a viewpoint that is closer to the sea than in the Art Institute paintings.^[13] In the foreground are caloges—old boat hulls that served as storehouses for nets and other fishing gear (fig. 4)—covered with thatch rather than the tarred planks of wood seen in the Art Institute’s versions. Technical images of Boats on the Beach at Étretat show that the dark, house-like structures, as well as the stone building at right, were part of the original composition, and unlike other motifs such as the boats, riggings, barrels, and winches, remained relatively untouched by alterations or overpainting (fig. 5; see also Technical Report, cat. 22).3

Top area shows pale green-blue water with scattered white waves across the width. In the middle, several shore-beached boats with orange-red hulls and dark blue or black trim sit at the water’s edge, their long masts upright or leaning; from left to right they cluster more densely on the right side. Near the center, three adults in dark clothing stand beside the boats, and another adult in brown and blue walks up from the lower right; facial details and skin tone are not clear. Foreground has green-brown grassy mounds and gray-brown ground, and the boats appear larger than the nearby adults. — Fig. 3

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). *Fishing Boats at the Beach of Étretat*, 1883. Oil on canvas; 65.4 × 92.7 cm (25.7 × 36.5 in.). Collection of Frederic C. Hamilton. Photograph courtesy of the Denver Art Museum.

Top center, a small hut with a low, thick roof sits on pale, sandy ground. Left to right, four adults are seated on chairs or the ground beside the hut, handling long nets that hang from the structure and stretch down to the sand; at the far right, another adult stands holding bundled netting. Around them are barrels, planks, and a basket, with the people roughly the height of the hut’s doorway. In the background, open sky and water appear on the left and low outbuildings on the right, all shown in black and white with dark clothing contrasting against the light sand. — Fig. 4

A typical *caloge*, with fisherman mending their nets, c. 1895. © Look and Learn.

Top area holds a wide band of mixed light, medium, and dark gray swirls. In the middle, two large conical forms with vertical streaks sit side by side; the left one is larger and slightly higher, the right one is smaller and lower. Surrounding them are irregular gray textures, with a darker vertical band near the right edge and lighter, choppy marks along the left and bottom edges. A rectangular border frames the scene with pale corner patches and small L‑shaped markers along the sides. — X-Ray

Top: a band of water in light and dark gray with several small boats and thin masts near the shoreline. Middle: a strip of beach where a few boats rest on the sand; along the right edge stands a tall, rectangular building or wall. Bottom: three large hut-like structures with steep, cone-shaped roofs dominate the foreground, with another partial roof at the lower left and a few low, rectangular objects on the ground. All elements appear in shades of gray, with the huts largest in the scene and the boats smaller and set farther back. — Infrared Reflectrogram (1.5–1.7 µm)

Monochrome scene in black, white, and gray tones. Across the center, three large triangular, cone-like shapes sit side by side, with the middle one the largest, the right one slightly smaller, and the left one partly cut off by the edge. The top area has horizontal gray streaks and darker patches, while the bottom area shows denser, rough textures. A dark border surrounds the frame, with a lighter, vertical band along the right side. — Transmitted Infrared (1.0–1.1 µm)

Fig. 5

X-ray, infrared (1.5–1.7 µm), and transmitted-infrared (1.0–1.1 µm) overlay of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing that the caloges were included early and remained relatively unchanged, while other elements were altered and overpainted. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

As indicated in his November letter to Alice, Monet was particularly interested in the caloges that dotted the coast, retired crafts that represented the end of a seafaring career. Once beached, the caloges were recycled into giant containers and, in some cases, served as makeshift homes.^[14] In the Art Institute’s versions and in the 1883 Fishing Boats (fig. 3), these caloges serve as topographical and cultural indicators. The sailing vessels in Fishing Boats, for example, rock in front of the waves as if anxious to distance themselves from the straw-roofed, brooding premonitions of their future. In Fishing Boats at Étretat (fig. 6 [W825]), another 1883 composition taken from a slightly lower elevation overlooking the perrey, the working boat is beached side by side with a caloge, making clear their relationship and significance.^[15] Contemporary photographs of these imposing converted structures (see fig. 7) attest to the same close physical relationship with the working boats that Monet describes in his painting. These photographs also help to make sense of Monet’s vertical and horizontal strokes of color, seen in the two Art Institute canvases, which describe the system of parallel wood planks (possibly cabestans^[16]) that were used to haul the boats up the steep shingle beach to the dry dock (fig. 8).^[17]
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Across the top, a gray, clouded sky stretches over a pale blue‑green horizon. In the center-left, two beached boats sit side by side: the left one larger with a light gray hull and dark green-black lower section, the right one smaller with a bright red and black hull; wooden posts and narrow masts rise around them. On the far right, a dark brown structure with a sloped, thatched-looking roof fills the edge. The foreground is a gray, pebbly shore with scattered dark shapes, leading back toward the water. — Fig. 6

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). *Fishing Boats at Étretat*, 1883. Oil on canvas; 60 × 73 cm (23 5/8 × 28 3/4 in.). Private collection. Sold, Sotheby’s Parke Bernet, May 17, 1978, no. 40.

Left to right: a large upturned wooden hull with a thick, straw-textured covering fills the foreground, with another hull and several long poles beside it. Across the middle, additional boats and scattered timbers sit on a rocky shore. On the right foreground, a tall post with round openings and a broad curved beam rest on supports, while calm water stretches to the far right and steep light cliffs rise in the background. Colors are mostly tan and brown tones, with lighter shades on the cliffs and water. — Fig. 7

Louis-Alphonse Davanne (French, 1824–1910). *Étretat, Fishermen’s Storage Sheds (No. 5 Étretat, cabestan)*, 1864. Department of Prints and Photographs, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. © BNF.

Background shows a pale sky over calm water. On the left, several adults stand and sit around a large device with long horizontal beams, with barrels, posts, and thick coils of rope nearby. Across the right side, a long plank-sided shed with a steep roof has an open door, and in front a line of adults in long garments with caps or hats pull a thick rope over their shoulders, walking toward the right foreground. In the front left corner, an adult wearing a brimmed hat sits beside the coiled rope; the scene is in gray tones. — Fig. 8

Photograph of Étretat, showing locals at work at a *cabestan*, c. 1895. © Look and Learn.

Monet, who grew up on the Normandy coast in Le Havre, translated these elements of the fishing trade, rendering them as random, abstract shapes that are difficult to decipher without contemporary photographs as a guide. This is certainly the case with the forms at the far right of the smaller composition Boats on the Beach at Étretat (cat. 22), between the edge of the beach and the stone building, which have been interpreted as a winch with figures. X-ray and infrared photography (fig. 9) indicate that there was once a second winch to the left of the winch visible in the final composition, which Monet roughly and incompletely painted over. There are also unresolved forms to the right of the winch, which were ultimately painted over and are now the blocky rust-colored verticals in the final version. These blocky verticals remain a mystery, given that there is no other sign of human activity on the beach. Comparing the two rust-colored verticals (fig. 10), the leftmost of which covers already dried strokes of blue and red, to vertical strokes in The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (cat. 23) used to describe the crowd figures (fig. 11) raises the possibility that the rust-colored strokes may represent another winch post or timbers that had been pounded into the beach.^[18] But the underlying fragments of blue and red could also indicate that Monet originally intended a person to be placed near the winch.
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Foreground shows three large, dark-roofed structures with blue‑gray triangular tops, with a few barrels and planks nearby. Behind them on the beach, several small boats with tall masts rest on the sand, their hulls painted red, green, blue, and bright yellow. At the far right, a tall tan wall with patches of green stands along the edge of the shore. Background is a green sea with white waves meeting the beach. — Natural Light

Top area shows streaked medium to dark gray with a light horizontal band near the upper center. In the middle, two dark structures with pointed, conical tops sit side by side; the left one is slightly larger and placed a bit higher. Uneven, swirling patches in light to medium gray surround them, with a taller, dense vertical section along the right edge. Everything is in black, white, and gray, and pale corner blocks with L-shaped brackets appear at all four corners. — X-Ray

Top section shows a choppy body of water in light to medium gray, meeting a narrow, lighter shoreline. Across the middle, several small boats rest near the shore, some with thin vertical masts, with a large vertical structure along the far right edge. In the foreground, three large structures with steep, triangular roofs occupy the center and right, and part of another boat appears at the lower left; these foreground forms are darker gray and larger than the smaller boats near the water. — Infrared Reflectrogram (1.5–1.7 µm)

Fig. 9

Natural-light, X-ray, and infrared (1.5–1.7 µm) overlay detail of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing changes made at an earlier painting stage, which remain visible in the final composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

From left to right, a broad diagonal band of teal and dark green fills the lower-left corner, meeting a field of light gray, beige, and pink across the upper half. Near the center is a tall, narrow dark green vertical shape, with a cluster of small reddish‑brown rounded shapes to its right and a deep blue triangular area below and to the right. Pale gray and white lines run behind these forms, and the far right edge shows a vertical tan strip with small green patches. The shapes are irregular and not clearly identifiable as specific objects. — Fig. 10

Detail from Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing two rust-colored brushstrokes to the right of the winch.The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

At the top, a wide area of light green fills the background. Across the middle, a horizontal cluster of small, irregular shapes in muted red and gray appears with bright blue marks, resting on a pale pink-lavender strip. On the right edge, a dark blue-gray triangular shape runs diagonally upward. The clustered shapes are small compared with the large green area and the prominent diagonal form. — Fig. 11

Detail from Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing the group of figures standing at the water’s edge on the left side of the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Monet’s Genre Painting

In The Departure of the Boats, Étretat, the forms are unambiguous and clearly decipherable. And yet, apart from the larger and more detailed male figure appearing just to the left of the open door of the middle, largest caloge (fig. 12), the groups of men and women at the water’s edge (fig. 11 and fig. 13) are composed of calligraphic dashes. Even in these staccato-like groupings, for example, the figures at the far left along the beach in the Departure denote gender and perhaps even social class.^[19] In the group of figures on the left of the largest caloge, for example, the figure third from the left, under magnification, suggests an elegant woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat over a bodice with a shawl-collar and coordinating skirt (fig. 11). She and the other two-toned figures are fashionable onlookers, not the sturdy fishermen’s wives who often helped launch vessels and hand-winch them back onto the beach (see fig. 8).^[20] But the season for tourism had passed, and one wonders whether Monet inserted, rather than observed, these figures who mingle among the less-articulated strokes of paint that may be a nod to the jaunty male visitor clad in bright-blue knickerbocker suits coupled with the scarlet berets of the fishermen.^[21]6

From left to right: a small, indistinct person-shaped figure in rusty brown stands on a light gray and pink ground. Near the center is a tall dark rectangle, and on the right is a much larger dark shape with a slanted top marked by blue and purple. The figure is noticeably smaller than the right-side shape, and muted grays, pinks, and blues fill the background. — Fig. 12

Detail from Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing a male figure. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

At the top, a broad area of pale turquoise water has darker green patches and a small yellow shape near the upper center. Below it, a pale pink shore holds a tight cluster of small, indistinct people in dark red, blue, and brown, mostly gathered at center-right. On the right is a large dark rock with a bright yellow upper surface, and in the foreground two blue triangular structures and two short dark posts angle toward the beach. — Fig. 13

Detail from Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing the group of figures standing at the water’s edge on the right side of the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Patches of white and pink in front of the centermost caloge of both canvases suggest debris or other working materials. In Departure these are thickly impasted with pinks, whites, and blues, and appear as an abstracted floral arrangement perhaps in a net, with green, vine-like leaves trailing to the right (fig. 14). These forms paradoxically appear in the same area of Boats on the Beach (fig. 15) but are more clearly defined. In Departure the paints are dabbed on wet into wet, whereas in Boats on the Beach they are painted wet into wet with a few horizontal strokes and carefully outlined so that they appear to have a functional relationship to the nearby nets and barrels.^[22]
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Top area is mostly dark gray-brown, with two small teal-green circular shapes near the upper center-right and a section of slanted blue and reddish lines along the upper right edge. Left side shows a small cluster of light cream and pink rounded shapes with dark green patches. Lower center-right holds the largest element: a diagonal bundle of long, narrow shapes in pale purple, green, and pink, set on a mottled gray ground with scattered small dabs of green and pink. — Fig. 14

Detail from Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing the area below both of the center *caloges.* The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Top section shows a dark background with two round reddish-brown objects with green openings slightly left of center; on the right, a larger triangular form with blue and purple stripes leans downward. Across the middle, a diagonal band of mixed colors—pale blue, pink, green, and gray—cuts from left to right with darker red and green marks along it. Bottom area has uneven gray and beige ground with scattered small patches of red, green, and white, including a few off-white chunks at the far left. — Fig. 15

Detail from Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing the area below both of the center *caloges*. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Method and Meaning

In contrast to the earlier 1883 compositions (fig. 3 and fig. 6), painted in more naturalistic browns, blues, and grays, the palette of both 1885 versions draws from the color mosaics of pinkish mauve, acidic yellows and creamy pinks, violets, and reds, which Monet had first experimented with in his Bordighera landscapes (see cat. 20) and that he would continue using throughout the 1880s (see cat. 24 and cat. 25). In both 1885 Étretat versions, for example, the tarred tops of the caloges appear as dark and undifferentiated but are actually made up of stripes of pastel blues, pinks, lavenders, and turquoise that paradoxically combine to suggest surfaces wet from the ocean fog and air on the overcast day (fig. 16 and fig. 17).8

Top section shows a narrow dark brown band above a wide area of light pink and gray. Centered slightly right is a tall triangular form pointing upward, made of dark blue, teal, and gray bands, with smaller angled bands along its sides. Left side contains a broad diagonal area of teal and dark blue, while the lower right has additional teal and blue streaks. Colors throughout are mainly blue, teal, gray, pink, and touches of brown. — Fig. 16

Detail from Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing the brightly colored brushstrokes used in the tarred planks that cover the center *caloges*. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top area shows a pale pink and gray ground with scattered short vertical marks in dark blue, teal, and red. Center and right hold two large triangular structures with diagonal stripes in blue, teal, and purple; the one on the right is larger and appears closer, while the one on the left is smaller and set farther back. The bottom portion is mostly dark gray to black with a few rounded green patches near the lower left. — Fig. 17

Detail from Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing the brightly colored brushstrokes used in the tarred planks that cover the center *caloges*. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Writing about Boats on the Beach at Étretat in 1950, the art historian Lionello Venturi termed Monet’s palette “angry,” an adjective that more aptly fits his technique, with sketchy slashes as brushwork, quite at odds with the more even-handed paint application used for Departure of the Boats.^[23] X-ray images of both canvases reveal that the larger Departure was more planned out from the beginning, without the changes and repaints that give the smaller Boats on the Beach its improvisational quality. Compared to the roughly laid-in strokes of color in the smaller version, the brushwork in Departure is more contained, more regular. In the smaller composition, Monet’s vigorous reworking (or scraping down and repainting) wet-on-wet and wet-over-dry of the boats and the area between the building and caloge suggests spontaneity and passion (see Technical Report, cat. 22). This is corroborated by X-ray and infrared examinations, which show that the artist made and changed the same area at numerous stages of the painting’s buildup, often allowing the changes in color, line, and form to show through.^[24] The result of these decisions is a rough texture that seems preordained, as if Monet was trying to express the roughness of the conditions he transcribes, and the immediacy, the urgency needed to capture the uncontrollable changing atmospheric conditions as well as the movements of boats and sea.^[25]9

Monet’s initial optimism, as noted in his November 24 letter to Alice about working indoors soon turned to frustration.^[26] Although his perch at the window of his hotel room allowed him a controlled environment in which to paint, he could not control his subject matter. Pentimenti visible to the unaided eye on the boats in Boats on the Beach at Étretat in particular suggest his responses to the constantly changing conditions, and, more importantly, the repositioning of the fishing boats and their masts as they were launched from and docked at the stony beach.^[27] It is unclear how much of the reworking to this canvas and to Departure of the Boats, Étretat was due to the variable natural effects, and how much was due to his reassessment of these works back in his Giverny studio. We are left with the scientific evidence and letters to tease out the real story behind this compelling, dramatic, and in many ways, metaphorical composition of these images: in Boats, suggesting the violence of nature, with turbulent weather crashing up onto the boats; and in Departure, showing the tranquil aftermath to inclement weather, with the sea filled with serenely placed boats ready for business with their sails hoisted.^[28]10

Despite the differences in mood and handling, Monet centered both Boats on the Beach at Étretat and The Departure of the Boats, Étretat on “my caloges.” While there is a focus on the relationship of the boats, not only to the sea but also to these picturesque and permanently beached counterparts, it is the caloges—emblems of the coastal fishing culture, which evoke shelter and solidity—that were perhaps of most interest to Monet.^[29]

Gloria Groom
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Boats on the Beach at Étretat, 1885 (Cat. 22)

Technical Summary

Claude Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat was painted on a pre-primed, no. 25 portrait (figure) standard-size linen canvas. The ground is off-white and consists of a single layer. There is a stamp from the color merchant Vieille & Troisgros on the back of the original canvas. The work is largely composed of a thick buildup of vigorous brushwork, some of which is related to changes made to the composition in the painting process. The stone building and the caloges^[30] were planned from early on and are painted directly over the ground layer; however, major revisions were made to the fishing boats on the beach. It appears that the two boats on the left side were originally painted into the composition and then covered by the water; the boats seen in the final painting were added, mostly wet-in-wet, over the thick lead white–rich paint of the waves. It seems that the artist wiped or scraped away some of the earlier paint, but traces of the rigging from the first boats remain visible. The two right-hand boats were incorporated into the composition early on; waves were subsequently painted over a significant portion of the left side of each boat, with elements of the final boats painted on top of the water. Some more-intense colors, which seem to be related to the earlier boats, are visible on the surface through breaks in the brushwork. A second winch may have originally been included to the left of the existing winch on the midright side of the painting, and a second figure was added later in the same area. Some slight adjustments were made to the position of the barrels in the foreground. The signature was applied after the painting had already been varnished.^[31]12

Multilayer Interactive Image Viewer

The multilayer interactive image viewer is designed to facilitate the viewer’s exploration and comparison of the technical images (fig. 22.1).^[32]
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Top section shows a green sea with white waves, and along the shoreline a row of six beached boats with tall masts, their hulls in red, dark blue, green, and yellow; two of them are yellow. In the foreground, three dark blue‑green peaked huts occupy the center with a partial hut at the lower left, and a few barrels and planks sit nearby. At the far right, a tall light-brown building borders the scene, and near it a few small human figures stand or walk, much smaller than the boats and huts. — Natural Light

Upper area shows a mottled field of light to medium gray with swirling marks. Near the lower center, two adjacent cone-like shapes appear, the left slightly larger and taller than the right, with darker sides and lighter streaks running from their tips downward. A lighter vertical band runs along the right edge, and all four corners contain pale L-shaped brackets with taped areas. Colors range across grayscale from white to dark gray. — X-Ray

Top area shows a light‑to‑medium gray sea with small waves; several small boats in dark gray sit near the shoreline, some with thin vertical masts. Across the middle, a narrow pale gray band of surf separates the water from the shore, where a few more boats rest on the sand. Foreground contains three large, dark gray cone‑shaped structures across the center, larger than the boats, with another partial cone shape at the lower left. Along the right edge, a tall medium‑gray building or wall runs from mid‑height to the bottom, bordering the shore. — Infrared Reflectogram (1.5–1.7 µm)

Top band shows muted green‑gray water with a row of small, dark boats and tall masts stretching left to right. In the middle and foreground are three large, dark triangular structures, with a rounded dark form at the lower left and a tall rectangular structure along the right edge. Colors are mostly dark blue, gray, brown, and black with small patches of red and yellow; the foreground forms are the largest, while the boats are smaller and set behind them. — Raking Light

Across the top, dark green-blue water is dotted with yellow and white patches, with several dark boats and tall masts near the upper center and right. In the middle and lower areas, a flat surface beside the water is mostly black, marked by scattered orange and red streaks. On the right edge, a tall gray-blue rectangular structure frames the scene, while two large dark triangular forms in the lower center and left, edged with orange-red, occupy much of the foreground and are larger than the boats. — Transmitted Light

Top section shows layered horizontal streaks in dark gray and black with lighter smudges. Across the center are three large triangular, cone-like forms marked by radiating light-gray lines; the middle and right shapes are similar in size, and a smaller one sits near the lower left corner. The lower area is densely mottled in medium and dark gray with scattered irregular marks, fading to a darker base. A lighter vertical strip runs along the far right edge. — Transmitted Infrared (1.0–1.1 µm)

At the top, dark blue-green water with bright turquoise-white surf meets a row of moored boats, their tall masts rising upward. Across the middle, a narrow strip of shore separates the boats from structures on land. In the foreground, three large, dark teal huts with steep triangular roofs fill the center and left, while a tall stone building with two small windows stands along the right edge. Colors are mostly deep teal, blue, and black, with lighter turquoise near the waves. — Ultraviolet

Fig. 22.1

Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Signature

Signature/Stamp
Signed: Claude Monet (lower right corner, in red-brown paint^[33]) (fig. 22.2). The underlying paint layers were dry when the signature was applied. In addition, in some areas, the signature appears to lie on top of remnants of yellowed varnish (fig. 22.3) and to bridge cracks formed in the underlying paint layer (fig. 22.4). This indicates that the signature was applied after some cracks had already formed in the painting and after the painting had been varnished. Compared with an archival black-and-white photograph (dated 1922) (fig. 22.5), it appears that some of the signature paint may have been removed in a previous cleaning (see Conservation History).^[34]
14

Top area shows muted green, beige, and gray with hints of pale blue, forming a rough, ridged surface. Across the center runs a horizontal line of small red-brown marks that resemble looping letter shapes, intersected by diagonal streaks of white and pale blue. The lower portion shifts to beige and light pink with patches of gray and white, continuing the textured look. — Fig. 22.2

Detail of Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing the signature. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

From top to bottom, a wrinkled pale beige surface with a light purple tint shows several red patches: a cluster near the top right, smaller spots across the upper middle, and a longer smear at the left center. Brownish stains sit beside some red areas, and tiny dark dots are scattered throughout. A thin dark crack runs diagonally from the lower left toward the lower right, with fine branching lines nearby. A scale bar at the bottom reads 2.0 mm, indicating the features are very small. — Monet 47.95 MIC 5

Top area shows mixed patches of green, brown, and dark gray with small touches of pink and teal. In the center, a small black square appears above a short row of reddish marks, surrounded by light gray and pale blue patches blending into tan. Along the bottom and right edges, a beige border frames the area, with light lavender and white patches near the lower edge on a tan background. — Detail Location

Fig. 22.3

Photomicrograph of the signature of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing yellowed varnish residues underneath the red paint of the signature. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top to bottom and left to right, a beige to tan surface with fine hairline cracks shows scattered pale yellow patches on the left and pale gray along the right edge. Across the center and right side, several dark red-brown curved streaks and dashes run diagonally, with small glossy specks dotting the area. Near the bottom right, a black horizontal line labeled “1.0 cm” provides scale. — Monet 47.95 MIC 3

Top area shows mixed patches of pale blue, light pink, tan, and olive green, with a dark gray diagonal streak near the upper right. Center area has blended beige and green with small red-brown marks; a small black-outlined rectangle sits slightly left of center, enclosing two short dark marks. Bottom area features lighter swaths of gray, lavender, and white with a thin dark line along the very bottom edge, and the right edge has a narrow vertical off-white strip. Overall colors are earthy greens and browns with touches of pastel pink, blue, and lavender. — Detail Location

Fig. 22.4

Photomicrograph of the signature of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing that the signature bridges cracks in the underlying paint layer. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

At the top, a light gray sea spans the width, with five small boats and tall masts lined up on the shore from left to right. In the middle, three dark hut-like structures with steep roofs cluster near the center, the largest in front, while a tall rectangular structure runs down the right edge. In the foreground, a larger boat fills the lower left corner, making the huts appear mid-sized between it and the distant boats. — Fig. 22.5

Black-and-white photograph of Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) taken c. 1922. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Structure and Technique

Support

Canvas
Flax (commonly known as linen).^[35]15

Standard format
The original dimensions were approximately 65 × 81.5 cm. This corresponds closely to a no. 25 portrait (figure) standard-size canvas (81 × 65 cm), turned horizontally.^[36]16

Weave
Plain weave. Average thread count (standard deviation): 26.8H (0.8) × 28.8V (0.7) threads/cm.^[37] The vertical threads were determined to correspond to the warp and the horizontal threads to the weft. No weave match was found with other Monet paintings analyzed for this project.17

Canvas characteristics
There is moderate, relatively even cusping on the top, bottom, and left edges. The cusping is slightly more pronounced and irregular along the right edge.^[38]18

Stretching
Current stretching: Dates to 1962 conservation treatment (see Conservation History). The canvas is attached with copper tacks spaced approximately 6–8 cm apart.19

Original stretching: It was not possible to observe all of the original tacking edges because of fabric strips adhered to the edges on all sides.20

Stretcher/strainer
Current stretcher: Four-membered ICA spring stretcher. Depth: 3.5 cm.21

Original stretcher: Discarded. The pre-1962-treatment stretcher may have been the original stretcher. The 1962 examination report states that the previous stretcher was five membered, including a vertical crossbar, with mortised joints and keys.^[39] Depth: Not documented.22

Manufacturer’s/supplier’s marks
A supplier’s stamp on the original canvas back was transcribed before the painting was lined in 1962 (see Conservation History) (text within palette-shaped frame)^[40]: H. VIELLE [sic] E TROISGROS S[…] / 35 RUE RAVEL [sic] […] / PARIS / COULEURS FINES / TOILES PANNEAUX^[41](fig. 22.6)
23

Top left, cursive handwriting in dark gray reads “Stamp on reverse of canvas.” Center-right, a small painter’s‑palette shape holds handwritten French words arranged around and inside it; clearly legible text includes “H. VIEILLE,” “PARIS,” “COULEURS FINES,” and “TOILES PANNEAUX,” with other words and numbers partly unclear. The background is white graph paper covered with a light blue square grid. — Fig. 22.6

Transcription of a supplier’s stamp from the back of the original canvas of Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Preparatory Layers

Sizing
Not determined (probably glue).^[42]24

Ground application/texture
There is a single, relatively thin ground layer that extends to the edges of the top, bottom, and left sides but appears to stop approximately 0.4 cm short of the right edge (fig. 22.7).^[43] This indicates that the canvas was cut from a larger roll of primed fabric on three sides; the right edge probably corresponds to the original edge of the roll that was attached to the priming frame. The canvas was probably commercially prepared. The ground ranges from approximately 20 to 125 µm in thickness (fig. 22.8).^[44]
25

Top section shows a narrow light gray band with scattered chips running horizontally. Below it, the side edge has a cracked, flaking off‑white layer over a dark gray‑brown base; near the right, a small round copper‑colored fastener sits next to a rectangular off‑white piece that slightly juts out. On the far left, a vertical cream band wraps around the edge. The fastener is small compared with the height of the edge. — Monet 47.95 upper right 2

Foreground: an adult soccer player with light-to-medium skin tone wearing a blue-and-white striped jersey with the number 10 lifts a gold trophy shaped like a globe above their head with both hands, smiling. At the top and around the player, gold confetti fills the air under bright stadium lights. Background: a large, blurred crowd fills the stadium stands, with mostly dark and neutral colors contrasting the blue, white, and gold in front. — Original Canvas

Fig. 22.7

Detail of the right tacking edge of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) where edge strip has been partially removed showing unprimed fabric at the edge of the original canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Monet 47.95 x1316_20x_DIC_d

Top section shows a green sea with light waves. Below it, five small boats with tall masts are lined along the shore, with hulls in red, dark blue, yellow, and black. In the foreground, several large huts with dark gray, triangular roofs sit on tan ground with a few indistinct items nearby, and at the far right a tall light-brown building with small windows borders the scene; the huts appear large while the boats are smaller along the waterline. — Sample Location

Fig. 22.8

Photomicrograph of a cross section of the ground and canvas layers of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885). Original magnification: 200×. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Color
Off-white; under magnification, some dark particles were visible (fig. 22.9).
26

Close-up view shows a cream and light gray surface with many tiny pits and scattered dark brown spots from top left to bottom right. Fine, branching cracks run vertically and diagonally, with small patches of pale blue and purple concentrated toward the right side. Areas catch light with a slight shine, and most spots are under about 0.5 mm across; a black horizontal scale bar labeled 2.0 mm sits at the bottom right. — Monet 47.95 MIC 7

Top area shows patches of dark green, black, and muted pink, with streaks angling downward. Across the middle and lower sections, overlapping swirls of pale blue, white, light purple, olive green, and tan appear, with small red-brown dashes arranged in a short line near the lower center. Along the right edge, a narrow light beige vertical strip forms the border, and a small black rectangle sits near the upper right corner. — Detail Location

Fig. 22.9

Photomicrograph of the right edge of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing the off-white ground. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Materials/composition
Analysis indicates that the ground contains primarily lead white and calcium carbonate (chalk), with traces of bone black, iron oxide with associated silicates, alumina, aluminum silicate, and silica.^[45] Both the lead white and the chalk exhibit particles and clusters of various sizes (fig. 22.10). Binder: Oil (estimated).27

Top area is dark gray with scattered tiny white specks. Across the center, an irregular horizontal band of bright white and light gray fragments includes several large oval patches and many small granules, bordered by darker cracked zones. Bottom left shows tightly packed dark gray polygonal shapes, while the bottom right is a smoother dark gray field; along the bottom edge, a black strip displays white text and a scale bar labeled 100 μm. — Monet 47.95 x1316_q

A large black background contains a small rectangular coastal scene in the lower-left corner. Across the top of that scene, green-gray water meets the horizon, with boats along the shore—orange, dark blue, yellow, and dark brown/black—arranged left to right with tall masts. In the middle to bottom, three dark, triangular-roofed huts sit on pale, rocky ground, and at the far right a tall light-brown building with a sloped roof runs from mid-height to the lower edge. The huts appear larger than the boats in this view, and no people are visible. — Sample Location

Fig. 22.10

Backscattered electron (BSE) image of a cross section of the ground layer of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing a wide distribution of particle size and clusters. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Compositional Planning/Underdrawing/Painted Sketch

Extent/character
No underdrawing was observed with infrared reflectography (IRR) or microscopic examination.28

Paint Layer

Application/technique and artist’s revisions
The work was densely painted with thick, vigorous brushwork, particularly throughout the water and the beach. The paint surface, with its rough brushwork and rather cursory treatment of forms, would perhaps seem to suggest a rapid execution, but the work was, in fact, carried out in multiple sessions and involved several revisions to the composition as the work progressed. Small areas of exposed ground are visible in places, for example, in between the individual strokes of the stone wall on the right and along the edges of some of the other compositional forms (fig. 22.11); but, on the whole, the work consists of thick, relatively continuous paint, making it difficult to observe the earliest layers and the precise sequence of painting. The presence of brushwork unrelated to the final composition and small glimpses of anomalous colors below the surface, as well as the appearance of the work in the X-ray, however, indicate that the painting was heavily worked up and significantly revised in areas.29

From top left to center-left, pale blue blends into white, forming a large irregular white area; below it sit pale gray tones with a small pink oval near the lower center. A vertical teal band runs just right of center, thinner than the wider color fields on either side. Right of the band, warm browns and tans dominate with muted red and small blue‑green patches, while the bottom left holds a dark green and black area edged with yellow. — Fig. 22.11

Detail of the water in Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing exposed ground along the edges of some of the forms. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

The stone building and caloges^[46] were planned from early on, laid in directly on top of the ground layer, and executed largely wet-in-wet with no evidence of any major modifications (fig. 22.12). Significant changes, however, were made to the beached boats in the middle ground. The heaviest reworking involved the two boats on the left side of the composition. These boats appear to have been included in the painting from early on; they were subsequently covered, however, by the thick paint of the water and the beach. In the final painting, the two boats were added on top, seemingly in a similar position to the earlier painting (fig. 22.13). Magnified views of the two boats on the left show that, for the most part, they were painted on top of the waves when the waves were still wet (fig. 22.14). Because of the density of the paint in this area, it is difficult to ascertain much about the earlier painting of the boats. Open drying cracks in the dark-purple paint of the boat on the far left, for example, reveal only the pale-blue paint from the intermediate layer of water underneath (fig. 22.15). However, the transmitted infrared image seems to suggest that both boats were originally somewhat larger or were pulled up further on the shore (fig. 22.16). In addition, traces of the rigging of both boats from the earlier painting stage remain visible to the unaided eye, positioned, in both cases, just to the right of the masts of the boats as painted in the final composition. There is evidence that the artist scraped or wiped away some of the soft paint of the earlier layers, resulting in a relatively smooth, flat paint surface (fig. 22.17). In these areas, only traces of the individual strokes related to the rigging remain. Some subsequent brushstrokes from the water partially cover the earlier rigging—microscopic glimpses through breaks in the water often reveal the more colorful paint layers beneath (fig. 22.18)—but it seems like traces of the earlier painting would have always remained visible upon close observation and that the artist was not overly concerned with concealing every trace of the earlier painting. In this area of the painting, in both the final composition and the earlier layers, it seems that there was a considerable amount of working back and forth between the boats and the water. For example, near the upper-left corner, just to the right of the upper portion of the main mast of the red boat, among the two roughly parallel fragments from the earlier rigging, the vertical stroke on the right was applied wet-in-wet into the water, whereas the stroke on the left was painted when the water was already dry (fig. 22.19). Similarly, single strokes from the final rigging were drawn through both wet and dry areas of paint from the water (fig. 22.20), indicating that, even within a fairly localized area, some strokes of the water were already dry while others were freshly applied when the rigging was added. There are some strong horizontal ridges near the left edge, visible in the X-ray and raking light image, which may also be related to the earlier composition (possibly an earlier position of the left boat or the initial lay-in of the water) (fig. 22.21). It is difficult to characterize precisely what changes were made in this part of the painting, but it seems that the two boats on the left were incorporated into the composition early on. They were then obliterated by a combination of scraping or wiping and painting the waves on top, before the final boats were executed.^[47]30

From left to right, a dark brown, nearly vertical band curves inward along the left edge. The center holds the largest area: a broad, uneven field of gray with streaks of light blue, cream, and lavender, crossed by a few thin purple lines and a soft salmon arc near the lower middle. On the right, smaller patches of muted pink, teal, and rust cluster near the top corner, with scattered short dark purple curves; along the bottom edge runs a dull olive‑gray strip. — Fig. 22.12

Detail of a *caloge* in Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing wet-in-wet paint application and exposed ground along the right edge. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

In shades of black, gray, and white, two large, dark, conical-roofed structures sit near the center, the left one slightly larger and overlapping the right. The top area is filled with uneven light and dark swirls, while a tall, darker vertical band runs along the right edge. The bottom foreground shows dense, streaked gray textures, and pale corner tabs with bracket-like marks are visible along the borders. — X-Ray

At the top, green water with white waves meets the shore. Across the middle, a row of beached sailboats with tall masts sits on the sand—hulls from left to right are red, dark green, dark blue, yellow, and yellow. In the foreground, three large, dark, hut-like shelters with blue-gray peaked roofs fill most of the scene, with a few barrels and planks nearby. Along the right edge, a stone-colored building borders the beach, with a few small people standing close to it. — Natural Light

Fig. 22.13

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing changes made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

Upper area shows a green background with several vertical brown poles and faint diagonal lines. In the center-left sits a small red-and-black boat with dark blue patches and a slanted pole, while the center-right has a pale gray and white area with curved forms. The lower area is mostly gray with two small dark brown rounded shapes and a thin green edge; dominant colors include green, red, black, blue, gray, white, and brown. — Fig. 22.14

Detail of the boat in Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing some wet-in-wet paint application. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top area shows pale green and white, with a raised, uneven surface and many fine cracks, leading into a large dark gray‑purple section at center. Left side near the bottom has a deep blue patch, while the right side shifts to light gray‑white with tan and orange‑brown streaks and small red‑orange spots. Fine cracks run across most regions, and a black scale bar labeled “1.0 cm” sits along the lower edge, indicating the view spans only a few centimeters. — Monet 47.95 MIC 9

Top third shows a pale gray sky; below it a green expanse of water with scattered white patches. Tall, dark masts rise from several boats near shore. In the foreground, two grounded boats fill the lower edge: the left one has an orange-red hull with dark blue and black trim, and the right one has a dark blue-green hull. Pebbly ground and dark piles of gear sit between and around the boats. — Detail Location

Fig. 22.15

Detail of a boat in Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing pale-blue paint from the water underneath exposed through drying cracks in the purple paint of the boat. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top half shows horizontal bands of gray and black with scattered dark patches. Across the middle, three prominent triangular shapes with light, radiating lines sit side by side; the center one is largest, the left one is partly cut off by the edge, and a darker vertical band runs along the far right. Bottom area is a mottled light-gray field with irregular darker clusters. Colors are grayscale only: black, white, and various grays. — Transmitted Infrared (1.0–1.1 µm)

Foreground shows three large dark huts with blue‑green pitched roofs on a sandy shore, with a few round containers and boards nearby. In the middle ground, from left to right, a row of small fishing boats with tall masts—red, dark blue, green, and two bright yellow—are pulled up near the waterline beside a tall building on the far right. Background shows a choppy green sea stretching across the top, with white waves breaking along the beach. — Transmitted Infrared (1.0–1.1 µm)

Fig. 22.16

Transmitted infrared (Fuji, 1.0–1.1 µm) and natural-light details of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing changes made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

Top-left area shows dark green and black mottled patches, with the far-left edge containing a narrow vertical band in dark blue and brown. Center and right areas display a pale green field with scattered dark brown streaks and tiny light specks, and a thin whitish scratch runs diagonally near the right side. Bottom region shifts to blue-green with shallow ridges and grooves. A black scale bar labeled 1.0 cm spans the lower edge. — Monet 47.95 MIC 24

Upper area shows pale blue sky over green water with thin white waves. Lower left foreground shows two boats with tall masts on a brown and pink shore; the left boat is larger and closer, both have bright yellow hulls with blue patches, and the right boat sits slightly behind near the water. The scene occupies the left side of the frame, while the right side is solid black. — Detail Location

Fig. 22.17

Photomicrograph of the mast of one of the boats in Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing possible scraping or wiping of the paint by the artist. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

A textured green surface fills the frame, marked by vertical ridges and small glossy areas. From top left to bottom right, pale to medium green zones are crossed by thin blue-purple streaks, with several small reddish-brown flecks near the lower center. A black scale bar along the bottom labeled 1.0 cm shows that the grooves and spots are tiny. — Monet 47.95 MIC 16

At the top, a narrow band of pale gray-blue sky sits above green water with scattered white patches. Three tall, thin masts rise through the center, attached to two small boats at the bottom: a red-orange boat on the left and a dark blue boat on the right. The boats rest on a gray-brown shore with foamy water along the edge. — Detail Location

FIg. 22.18

Photomicrograph of the rigging of one of the boats in Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing colorful paint from underneath exposed at the surface. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top area shows a light green-gray surface with fine hairline cracks. From left to center, a pale curved band crosses above a dark purple patch, which has small red marks along its right edge; to the right, a cluster of thin brown vertical lines descends. Bottom area is mottled green-gray with scattered darker streaks, and a black scale bar labeled 1.0 cm runs along the lower right. — Monet 47.95 MIC 13

At the top, a pale gray sky meets a choppy green sea with scattered white foam. From left to right across the middle, tall dark masts rise from two small boats near the shoreline. In the foreground, a red-orange boat with a blue band sits on gray sand at left, and a darker blue-green boat rests at right beside white surf; the boats are the largest elements, with the water receding into the background. — Detail Location

Fig. 22.19

Photomicrograph of the rigging of one of the boats in Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing both wet-in-wet and wet-over-dry paint applications. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top area shows a pale gray-green sky meeting a green sea, with two small vertical forms near the distant horizon. From the bottom foreground, a dark mass with crossed brown and gray beams anchors three tall, dark poles, with thin diagonal lines running between them; these poles are the tallest elements, reaching most of the height. Across the middle, the green water is marked by white patches and curved streaks, and a thin light vertical band runs along the far left edge. — Fig. 22.20

Detail of the rigging of one of the boats in Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing both wet-in-wet and wet-over-dry paint applications. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top half shows a mottled field of light and dark gray tones. Near the center, two large, dark, conical structures with radiating lines sit side by side, the left one slightly larger; beneath each is a darker block-like base, with irregular lighter and darker areas surrounding them, and a tall, narrow dark band along the right edge. Pale L-shaped corner markers appear in all four corners. — X-Ray

At the top, green-blue water with white surf meets a narrow shore. Across the middle, five small boats with tall masts sit on the beach; from left to right their hulls are red-orange, deep blue-green, bright yellow, bright yellow, and dark blue, and a tan wall runs down the right edge. In the foreground, three large dark huts with blue-gray roofs fill most of the lower area, with a few barrels and planks nearby. The huts are largest in the front, with the boats smaller behind them near the water. — Natural Light

Top: several dark boats with tall masts line up on green-gray water. Middle: three large, dark, triangular-roofed structures cluster in the center, with another similar roof partly visible at the lower left; a tall rectangular building sits along the right edge. Bottom and foreground: the clustered roofs are the largest elements, while the boats are smaller and appear farther back. Colors are muted blues, grays, browns, and greens, with small touches of red and yellow on some boats. — Raking Light

Fig. 22.21

X-ray, raking-light, and natural-light details of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing a possible change made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

Similar observations were made about the two boats on the right side of the composition, including brushstrokes unrelated to the final composition and the partial removal of the initial rigging. The X-ray indicates that these boats were incorporated early on, based on their relative radio-transparency; they too were painted over, in areas, however, with thick, white paint from the waves, mainly along the left side of each boat (fig. 22.22). Paint colors, seemingly unrelated to the final composition, are visible through breaks in the upper paint layers. Bright-yellow paint, visually similar to that used for the final yellow band of the boat farthest to the right, is visible from underlying layers around the base of this boat (fig. 22.23), and in the area of the beach between the two boats. Further down in the beach, dark-brown and purple paint is visible through breaks in the upper paint layers (around the winch), possibly indicating features unrelated to the surface composition (fig. 22.24). It seems that originally a second winch might have been included just to the left of the winch in the final painting. This was then roughly painted over when the earlier paint was dry (fig. 22.25).31

Top half is a mottled field of light and medium grays. In the lower center, two large dark building-like forms with tall, pointed, cone-shaped roofs sit side by side, the left one slightly larger and positioned a bit higher than the right. Surrounding them are rough, swirling gray areas with lighter streaks, and a thick dark vertical band lines the right edge. Thin white bracket-like markers appear near all four corners and at the midpoints of the sides. — X-Ray

Top third shows a choppy green sea with white surf meeting a narrow beach. Across the upper middle, five boats with tall masts rest near the shoreline, with hulls in orange, dark blue‑green, and two bright yellow ones. The lower half is filled by three large, dark, shed‑like structures with blue‑green roofs, plus a partial one at the far left; small barrels and planks sit on the pale ground around them. Along the far right edge stands a tall building with a tan wall facing the beach, with a few small, indistinct shapes nearby. — Natural Light

Fig. 22.22

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing changes made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

Top left shows a dark green and black area with patches of yellow and a small streak of blue, meeting a large off-white section with raised ridges in the center and right. Lower middle shifts to pale gray and light pink with uneven boundaries. Along the bottom edge are darker greens and blacks with a thin bright yellow‑green line. No recognizable objects or text are present. — Fig. 22.23

Detail of a boat in Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing bright yellow paint from an earlier layer. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Top area has soft pink, beige, and gray patches. Left side shows a wide diagonal band of teal and dark green; the center has a dark green vertical form, and to its right are several rust-red rounded patches with lighter pink behind them. Bottom area is light gray with a few small dark green marks, and the far right includes a blue triangular form next to a narrow brown vertical strip. — Fig. 22.24

Detail of the beach in Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) showing changes made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

At the top, a wide expanse of light to medium gray spans left to right with cloudy, uneven textures. In the lower center foreground, two large dark gray cone-shaped forms sit side by side, each marked by lighter radiating streaks, and they are the largest elements. A darker vertical band runs down the right side, while irregular lighter patches and streaks appear along the left and bottom edges. Small white corner pieces with bracket-like markings are visible near all four corners; the palette is black, white, and gray. — X-Ray

At the top, a choppy green sea meets a narrow shoreline. Along the waterline, several small sailboats with tall masts rest on the sand, colored red, blue, and bright yellow from left to right. In the foreground, three large, dark huts with blue-green roofs stand amid a few barrels and planks, while a tall stone building lines the right edge; the huts appear larger than the distant boats because they are closer. — Natural Light

Fig. 22.25

X-ray and natural-light overlay details of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing changes made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

Other more minor modifications include the addition of a second figure between the winch and the stone building (fig. 22.24). The rust-colored paint used in this area to define what could be two figures was applied when the underlying paint was already dry; the left figure was laid in earlier, however, with strokes of deep-red and deep-blue paint. The placement of the barrels in the foreground between the two caloges was also changed slightly (fig. 22.26).^[48]32

Top area shows a wide band of light-to-medium gray with streaky textures. In the center, two adjacent dark-gray structures with tall, pointed roofs sit slightly left of center; the left one is larger, the right one smaller and nearer the right edge. Surrounding them are irregular patches and strokes in light and medium gray, with a darker vertical zone along the far right. White L-shaped brackets and translucent corner pieces appear at all four corners, and everything is in shades of gray. — X-Ray

At the top, choppy green water with white waves meets a narrow beach. Below, a row of small sailboats with tall masts rests on the shore, with hulls in red, dark blue, green, and two bright yellow ones. In the foreground, three large dark structures with blue‑green pitched roofs stand on the sand beside a few barrels and planks, and a stone wall runs along the right edge; these structures are largest, with the boats smaller behind them. — Natural Light

Fig. 22.26

X-ray and natural-light overlay details of Monet’s Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885) showing changes made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95. Interactive image.

Painting tools
Brushes, including 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 cm width, flat ferrule (based on width and shape of brushstrokes). Several brush hairs are embedded in the paint surface.33

Palette
Analysis indicates the presence of the following pigments: lead white, cadmium yellow, vermilion, red lake, viridian, emerald green, cobalt blue, and ultramarine blue.^[49] UV fluorescence indicates that red lake was used throughout the painting.^[50]34

Binding media
Oil (estimated).^[51]35

Surface Finish

Varnish layer/media
A spray coat of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) AYAA was applied in 1962 (see Conservation History). The surface coating is evenly applied and appears slightly glossy in some passages. Residues of an older, yellowed, natural-resin varnish are visible in the recesses of the paint texture. It is not known when the natural-resin varnish was applied but it was documented as being extremely discolored in 1957.^[52]36

Conservation History

In 1962, discolored varnish was removed. The canvas was wax-resin lined and stretched on a new ICA spring stretcher. A spray coat of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) AYAA was applied. Inpainting was carried out.^[53]37

Condition Summary

The painting is in good condition. The canvas is wax-resin lined and stretched taut on an ICA spring stretcher. The paint and ground layers are secure. There is some flattened paint and depressions made near the edges when the paint was still soft, which are possibly related to framing or transport of the work early on. There is also some minor abrasion and mild gouges or scratches around the edges of the painting in the frame rebate area. There are several brush hairs embedded in the paint surface. There is a general network of fine cracks, with more pronounced cracking visible in the thicker, lead white–rich passages. Localized areas of drying cracks are also present, for example, in the darker paint layers of the boats. Under magnification, residues of old retouching are visible on many of the wider-aperture drying cracks. There are yellowed varnish residues in the recesses of the paint texture and underneath the signature; this latter condition suggests that the painting was signed after the work was varnished. The signature appears to have been compromised in earlier cleanings. There are some cotton fibers and facing tissue residues adhered to the surface of the painting. Fabric strips have been applied to the tacking edges with a thick white adhesive or paint.

Kimberley Muir
38

Frame

The current frame (from at least 1975) is not original to the painting. It is an Italian, nineteenth-century, Salvator Rosa, scotia frame with applied composition ornament of acanthus leaf on the outside edge, laurel and berry above the scotia, and an acanthus-leaf-and-tongue sight molding. The frame is water gilded over yellow bole on gesso and composition. The convex top molding is burnished; all other areas are left matte. The frame retains its original glue size. The frame is made of poplar, with applied mitered back, front, and sight moldings on a half-lapped cassetta base. The molding, from perimeter to interior, is ogee with acanthus-leaf composition ornament; scotia side; convex face with treacle back edge; ovolo laurel-and-berry composition ornament; scotia (hollow); ogee with acanthus-leaf-and-tongue composition ornament; and originally a fillet (the fillet edge has been reduced back to the edge of the applied ornament). The independent fillet liner with cove sight is a later addition (fig. 22.27).^[54]39

At the top, choppy green water with white waves meets a narrow strip of shore. Across the middle from left to right, five beached boats sit in a row: a red-and-blue boat, a dark green boat, a dark blue boat, and two bright yellow boats, all with tall masts. In the foreground, several large dark sheds with steep roofs fill the lower area, and at the right edge a stone building borders a narrow path leading to the shore where two small human figures stand, much smaller than the nearby boats and sheds. — Fig. 22.27

Monet’s *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885) in its current frame. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.95.

Kirk Vuillemot
40

Acquired from [unknown] by Georges Bernaert.^[55]41

Acquired by Georges Bernheim, Paris, c. 1907.^[56]42

Acquired by Marczell de Nemes, Budapest, by 1911.^[57]43

Sold at the Marczell de Nemes Sale, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, June 18, 1913, lot 113, to Durand-Ruel, Paris, as an agent for an unnamed person, for 9,500 francs.^[58]44

Acquired by Kleinberger Gallery, Paris, by Nov. 15, 1922.^[59]45

Acquired by John Levy Galleries, Paris, by Nov. 15, 1922.^[60]46

Sold by John Levy Galleries, Paris, to Charles H. Worcester, Chicago, by Nov. 15, 1922, for $2,295.^[61]47

Given by Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.^[62]
48

Budapest, Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Nemes Marcell képgyűjteményének kiállítása [Exhibition of paintings in the collection of Marcell von Nemes], 1910, no cat. no.^[63]49

Munich, Königliche Ältere Pinakothek München, Sammlung des Königliche Rates Marczell von Nemes, Budapest, ausgestellten Gemälde, June–Dec. 1911, cat. 34 (ill.), as Strandbild.50

Düsseldorf, Kunsthalle, Sammlung des Königliche Rates Marczell von Nemes, July–Dec. 1912, cat. 104.^[64]51

Art Institute of Chicago, Exhibition of the Worcester Collection, July 24–Sept. 23, 1923, no cat.^[65]52

Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art, Paintings by French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, Nov. 7–Dec. 12, 1937, cat. 14 (ill.).53

Arts Club of Chicago, Loan Exhibition of Modern Paintings and Drawings from Private Collections in Chicago, Nov. 4–25, 1938, cat. 87.54

Art Institute of Chicago, The Paintings of Claude Monet, Apr. 1–June 15, 1957, no cat. no.^[66]55

City Art Museum of St. Louis, Claude Monet: A Loan Exhibition, Sept. 25–Oct. 22, 1957, cat. 62 (ill.); Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Nov. 1–Dec. 1, 1957.56

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Art Center, Inaugural Exhibition, Dec. 5, 1958–Jan. 31, 1959, cat. 138 (ill.).57

Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings by Monet, Mar. 15–May 11, 1975, cat. 68 (ill.). (fig. 22.28)
58

A gallery room with olive-green walls displays five framed artworks, with the text “1884–1890” above the center and a low barrier along the right wall. From left to right: the first shows a sandy shoreline with brown tents or canopies and small figures near blue‑gray water. Above center is an arched light-colored bridge over green water and plants; below it, two people stand on grass beneath leafy trees with white blossoms. Next is a smaller square scene of boats with tall masts on blue water, and at the far right a view of a building with an arch surrounded by green trees and shrubs under a pale blue sky. — Fig. 22.28

Installation of Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885), far left, and *Boats on the Beach at Étretat* (1885), second from right, in *Paintings by Monet*, Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 15–May 11, 1975. Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago.

Highland Park, Ill., Neison Harris, Sept. 26–Dec. 6, 1979, no cat.^[67]59

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent’s Choice: The Musée Imaginaire of Van Gogh, Feb. 14–June 15, 2003, cat. 129 (ill.).60

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Monet in Normandy, June 17–Sept. 17, 2006, cat. 43 (ill.); Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art, Oct. 15, 2006–Jan. 14, 2007; Cleveland Museum of Art, Feb. 18–May 20, 2007.61

London, Royal Academy of Arts, Impressionists by the Sea, July 7–Sept. 30, 2007, cat. 63 (ill.); Washington, D.C., Phillips Collection, Oct. 20, 2007–Jan. 13, 2008; Hartford, Conn., Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Feb. 9–May 11, 2008.62

Fort Worth, Tex., Kimbell Art Museum, The Impressionists: Master Paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago, June 29–Nov. 2, 2008, cat. 48 (ill.).
63

Catalogue de la collection de M. Georges Bernaert (n.p., n.d.), no. 86 (ill.).^[68]64

August L. Mayer, Katalog der aus der Sammlung des Kgl. Rates Marczell von Nemes, Budapest, ausgestellten Gemälde, with a preface by V. Tschudi, exh. cat. (F. Bruckmann, 1911), cat. 34 (ill.).65

Emil Schäffer, “Neue Bücher der Kunstwissenschaft,” Kunst und Künstler 9 (1911), p. 260 (ill.).66

Gabriel Mourey, “La collection Marczell de Nemes,” Les arts 138 (June 1913), p. 30.^[69]67

“Liste des prix et noms des acquéreurs de la deuxième vacation de la collection Marczell de Nemes,” Le Gil Blas, June 19, 1913, p. 2.68

M. B. W., “Summer Loan Exhibitions,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 17, 6 (Sept. 1923), p. 58 (ill.).69

Toledo Museum of Art, Paintings by French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, exh. cat. (Toledo Museum of Art, 1937), cat. 14 (ill.).70

Arts Club of Chicago, Loan Exhibition of Modern Paintings and Drawings from Private Collections in Chicago, exh. cat. ([Arts Club of Chicago], [1938]), cat. 87.71

Daniel Catton Rich, Catalogue of the Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection of Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings (Lakeside, 1938), pp. vi; 76, cat. 77; pl. 45.72

Art Institute of Chicago, “Complete List of Works,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 41, 5 (Sept.–Oct. 1947), p. 63.73

Oscar Reuterswärd, Monet: En konstnärshistorik (Bonniers, 1948), pp. 160; 161, fig. 75; 284.74

Claude Monet: A Loan Exhibition, exh. cat. (Minneapolis Society of the Fine Arts, 1957), p. 66, cat. 62 (ill.).75

William C. Seitz, “Claude Monet’s View of Nature,” in Claude Monet: A Loan Exhibition, exh. cat. (Minneapolis Society of the Fine Arts, 1957), p. 25.76

A. C., “Homage to Claude Monet,” Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 51, 2 (Apr. 1, 1957), p. 23.77

Art Institute of Chicago,“Catalogue,” Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 51, 2 (Apr. 1, 1957), p. 33.78

Oklahoma Art Center, Inaugural Exhibition, exh. cat. ([Oklahoma Art Center], [1958]), cat. 138 (ill.).79

William C. Seitz, Claude Monet, Library of Great Painters (Abrams, 1960), pp. 32, 126–27 (ill.).80

Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Art Institute of Chicago, 1961), p. 320.^[70]81

Yvon Taillandier, Monet, trans. A. P. H. Hamilton (Crown, [1963]), pp. 46, 60 (ill.), 68.^[71]82

Luigina Rossi Bortolatto, L’opera completa di Claude Monet: 1870–1889, Classici dell’arte 63 (Rizzoli, 1972), pp. 16; 57, pl. 41; 106, cat. 287 (ill.); 107.83

Grace Seiberling, “The Evolution of an Impressionist,” in Paintings by Monet, ed. Susan Wise, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1975), pp. 30, 31, 33.84

Susan Wise, ed., Paintings by Monet, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1975), p. 125, cat. 68 (ill.).85

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 172; 173, cat. 1024 (ill.); 268, letter 628.86

J. Patrice Marandel, “New Installation of Earlier Painting,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 73, 1 (Jan.–Feb., 1979), p. 15 (ill.).87

Robert Herbert, “Method and Meaning in Monet,” Art in America 67, 5 (Sept. 1979), pp. 103, fig. 15; 105.88

A. M. Hammacher and Renilde Hammacher, Van Gogh: A Documentary Biography, trans. Mary Charles (Thames & Hudson, 1982), pp. 142, pl. 118; 236.^[72]89

Richard R. Brettell, “Monet’s Haystacks Reconsidered,” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 11, 1 (Fall 1984), pp. 7; 19, fig. 16.90

John House, Monet: Nature into Art (Yale University Press, 1986), pp. 188, 189.91

Richard R. Brettell, French Impressionists (Art Institute of Chicago/Abrams, 1987), pp. 78 (detail), 79, 80 (ill.), 118.92

Robert L. Herbert, Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society (Yale University Press, 1988), pp. 299; 301; 302, pl. 311.93

Francesco Arcangeli, Monet (Nuova Alfa, 1989), pp. 56; 121, fig. 47; 155.94

Richard Kendall, ed., Monet by Himself: Paintings, Drawings, Pastels, Letters, trans. Bridget Strevens Romer (Macdonald Orbis, 1989), pp. 145 (ill.), 319.95

Rodolphe Rapetti, Monet (Anaya/Mondadori, 1990), p. 75, pl. 52.96

Karin Sagner-Düchting, Claude Monet, 1840–1926: Ein Fest für die Augen (Benedikt Taschen, 1990), pp. 140, 141 (ill.). Translated by Karen Williams as Claude Monet, 1840–1926: A Feast for the Eyes (Taschen, 2004), pp. 140, 141 (ill.).97

Sophie Fourny-Dargère, Monet, Profils de l’art (Chêne, 1992), p. 154, fig. 5.98

Art Institute of Chicago, Treasures of 19th- and 20th-Century Painting: The Art Institute of Chicago, with an introduction by James N. Wood (Art Institute of Chicago/Abbeville, 1993), p. 101 (ill.).99

Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), back cover (ill.); pp. 103; 106, fig. 115; 107; 108; 109 (detail).100

Andrew Forge, Monet, Artists in Focus (Art Institute of Chicago, 1995), pp. 35; 36; 81, pl. 10; 107.101

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, or The Triumph of Impressionism, cat. rais., vol. 1 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 211, 212–13 (ill.).102

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.103

Fabrizio d’Amico, “Monet e il Mediterraneo: da Bordighera ad Antibes,” in Monet: I luoghi della pittura, ed. Marco Goldin, exh. cat. (Linea d’Ombra, 2001), p. 176 (ill.).104

Cornelia Homburg, “Vincent van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: Colleagues, Competitors, Friends,” in Vincent’s Choice: Van Gogh’s Musée Imaginaire, ed. Chris Stolwijk, Sjraar van Heugten, Leo Jansen, and Andreas Blühm, exh. cat. (Van Gogh Museum/Thames & Hudson, 2003), p. 114.^[73]105

Chris Stolwijk, Sjraar van Heugten, Leo Jansen, and Andreas Blühm, eds., Vincent’s Choice: Van Gogh’s Musée Imaginaire, exh. cat. (Van Gogh Museum/Thames & Hudson, 2003), p. 264, pl. 129.^[74]106

Sotheby’s, New York, Impressionist and Modern Art: Part One, sale cat. (Sotheby’s, May 6, 2003), p. 73, fig. 3.107

Richard Brettell, “Monet and Normandy,” in Monet in Normandy, ed. Heather Lemonedes, Lynn Federle Orr, and David Steel, exh. cat. (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/North Carolina Museum of Art/Cleveland Museum of Art/Rizzoli, 2006), p. 48.108

Heather Lemonedes, Lynn Federle Orr, and David Steel, eds., Monet in Normandy, exh. cat. (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/North Carolina Museum of Art/Cleveland Museum of Art/Rizzoli, 2006), pp. 136–37, cat. 43 (ill.); 185.109

David M. Hopkin, “Fishermen, Tourists and Artists in the Nineteenth Century: The View from the Beach,” in John House and David M. Hopkin, Impressionists by the Sea, exh. cat. (Royal Academy of Arts, London/Thames & Hudson/Abrams, 2007), p. 33.110

John House and David M. Hopkin, Impressionists by the Sea, exh. cat. (Royal Academy of Arts, London/Thames & Hudson/Abrams, 2007), pp. 113, cat. 63 (ill.); 139, cat. 63 (ill.); 140.111

Eric M. Zafran, “Monet in America,” in Wildenstein and Co., Claude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff, exh. cat. (Wildenstein and Co., 2007), p. 127.112

Eliza E. Rathbone, “Impressionists by the Sea,” Phillips Collection Magazine (Fall 2007), p. 5 (ill.).113

Gloria Groom and Douglas Druick, with the assistance of Dorota Chudzicka and Jill Shaw, The Impressionists: Master Paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Kimbell Art Museum, 2008), pp. 17; 108, cat. 48 (ill.). Simultaneously published as Gloria Groom and Douglas Druick, with the assistance of Dorota Chudzicka and Jill Shaw, The Age of Impressionism at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2008), pp. 17; 108, cat. 48 (ill.).^[75]114

Jennifer A. Thompson, “Van Gogh and Close-Up Techniques in 19th-Century French Painting,” in Van Gogh Up Close, ed. Cornelia Homburg, exh. cat. (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa/Philadelphia Museum of Art/Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 69; 70, ill. 50; 94, n. 15.
115

Documentation from the John Levy Galleries Archives

Purchase invoice116

Documentation from the Bernheim-Jeune Archives

Photograph117

Labels and Inscriptions

Undated

Label
Location: backing board
Method: printed label with typewritten script
Content: THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / artist Claude Monet / title Boats on the Beach at Etretat / medium oil on canvas / credit / acc. # 1947.95 / LZ-341-001 1M 1/90 (Rev. 1/90) (fig. 22.29)118

At top, a header reads “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO” in black on a light beige card. Below, left-aligned entries list: artist — Claude Monet; title — Boats on the Beach at Etretat (underlined); medium — oil on canvas; credit — blank. At the lower right, the accession number appears as 1947.95, with small codes “LZ-341-001 1M 1/90 (Rev. 1/90)” in the bottom corner. — Fig. 22.29

Label
Location: stretcher
Method: printed label with handwritten script and green-ink stamp
Content: [TH]E ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60603, U.S.A. / . . . Monet, Claude / Boats in Winter Quarters: Étretat / 1947.95
Stamp: Inventory—1980–1981 / [handwritten in pencil, upper left folded down corner] 188 (fig. 22.30)119

Top edge shows a thin strip of gray fabric above a horizontal reddish-brown wooden surface. Centered on the wood is a torn white paper label with printed black text: “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60603, U.S.A.” and a small green line with “Inventory – 1980 – 1981.” Blue-ink handwriting on the label reads “Monet, Claude, Boats in Winter Quarters: Etretat, 1947.95,” and a small penciled number “881” appears at the left; the label has ragged edges with a missing lower-left corner. — Fig. 22.30

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten script
Content: 47.95 (fig. 22.31)120

Across the top, a long brown, grainy surface with scratches shows a torn beige strip peeling along the upper-right edge. On the left, a silver-colored bracket with two round screws holds a D-shaped ring, with a small round hole in the surface just to its right. Toward the right, a diagonal joint forms a corner, and a single flathead screw sits near the lower-right. — Fig. 22.31

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten script
Content: 1947.95 (fig. 22.32)121

Top area shows a flat brown surface. Across the upper middle, a narrow gold-colored strip with several round holes runs horizontally, fastened by a small silver-colored screw on the left; a second small silver-colored screw sits below it near the center-left. Beneath the strip on the darker brown area, a faint inscription reads “1947.95.” Colors present are brown surfaces, a gold strip, and silver screws. — Fig. 22.32

Number
Location: stretcher
Method: handwritten script
Content: 1947.95 (fig. 22.33)122

Top to bottom: a dark brown horizontal bar, a narrow white band, and a gray textured strip. On the left edge, a short gold-colored strip with two round holes is fixed with a screw. The lower half is a reddish-brown surface with a diagonal seam at the bottom left and pencil-like numbers reading “1947 95,” with a small round hole between the “4” and “7.” Elements align in horizontal bands, with the writing near the center of the lower area. — Fig. 22.33

Number
Location: stretcher
Method: handwritten script on masking tape
Content: 4795 (fig. 22.34)123

Top section shows a gray-brown textured fabric. Across the middle, a horizontal medium-brown wooden bar runs left to right, with a small torn beige tape label near the center bearing the handwritten number “4795”; a small silver bracket is partly visible at the far left. Along the bottom, a dark gray fabric strip stretches across with a narrow white band below it. — Fig. 22.34

Pre-1980

Stamp
Location: original canvas; transcription in conservation file
Method: not documented, text within palette-shaped frame
Content: H. VIELLE [sic] E TROISGROS S. . . / 35 RUE RAVEL [sic] 55 [sic] / PARIS / COULEURS FINES / TOILES PANNEAUX^[76] (fig. 22.6)

Seal
Location: pre-1962-treatment stretcher on bottom and middle sections; transcription in conservation file
Method: red seal
Content: [?] (fig. 22.35)124

White graph paper with light blue grid lines fills the background. Across the middle from left to right, a single line of dark gray cursive handwriting reads, “Red seal, on bottom and middle sections of stretcher.” — Fig. 22.35

Post-1980

Stamp
Location: stretcher
Method: green-ink stamp
Content: Inventory—1980–1981 (fig. 22.36)125

Top area shows a brown surface with fine horizontal grain lines. Near the bottom edge, a faint dark stamp runs left to right; most characters are unclear, but “1900” appears followed by a dash and another year that is not legible, with a thin dark line beneath the text. Along the very bottom is a narrow dark gray strip forming the lower boundary. — Fig. 22.36

Label
Location: backing board
Method: printed label
Content: [logo] THE CLEVELAND / MUSEUM OF ART / 11150 East Boulevard / Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1797 / Monet in Normandy / (6/17/2006–5/28/2007) / Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) / Boats on the Beach at Etretat, 1885 / Oil on canvas / 1885 / Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester / Collection / CAT#: 43 / 1947.95 (fig. 22.37)126

Fig. 22.37

Label
Location: backing board
Method: printed label
Content: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, June 17–September 17, 2006 / North Carolina Museum of Art, October 15, 2006–January 14, 2007 / The Cleveland Museum of Art, February 18–May 20, 2007 / Exhibition: Monet in Normandy / Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) / Title: Boats on the Beach at Étretat, 1885 / Lender: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL / [W1024; cat # 43] (fig. 22.38)127

A cream-colored rectangular wall label with a thin black border fills most of the frame, printed in black text. Top section lists three venues and dates: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (June 17–September 17, 2006), North Carolina Museum of Art (October 15, 2006–January 14, 2007), and The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 18–May 20, 2007). Middle section states “Exhibition: Monet in Normandy,” then “Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)” and “Title: Boats on the Beach at Étretat, 1885.” Bottom left reads “Lender: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL,” and the lower right shows a small bracketed code “[W1024; cat. # 43].” — Fig. 22.38

Label
Location: backing board
Method: printed label
Content: Royal Academy of Arts, London / Impressionists by the Sea / 3 July 2007 to 30 September 2007 / Claude Monet Key No. 61 Cat No. 63 / Boats on the Beach, Etretat / The Art Institute of Chicago. Charles H. and Mary F. S. / Worcester Collection, 1947.95, The Art Institute of Chicago (fig. 22.39)128

White rectangular paper label on a light background with black printed text. Top to bottom: “Royal Academy of Arts, London,” then “Impressionists by the Sea,” and the dates “3 July 2007 to 30 September 2007.” Midsection lists “Claude Monet” at left, “Key No. 61” centered, and “Cat No. 63” at right, with “Boats on the Beach, Etretat” in blue and underlined below. Bottom lines read “The Art Institute of Chicago” and “Charles H. and Mary F.S. Worcester Collection, 1947.95, The Art Institute of Chicago.” — Fig. 22.39

Examination and Analysis Techniques

X-radiography

Westinghouse X-ray unit, scanned on Epson Expressions 10000XL flatbed scanner. Scans digitally composited by Robert G. Erdmann, University of Arizona.129

Infrared Reflectography

Goodrich/Sensors Unlimited SU640SDV-1.7RT with J filter (1.5–1.7 µm); Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-Nite 1000B/2 mm filter (1.0–1.1 µm); and Inframetrics Infracam with 1.5–1.73 µm filter.130

Transmitted Infrared

Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-Nite 1000B/2 mm filter (1.0–1.1 µm).131

Visible Light

Natural-light, raking-light, and transmitted-light overalls and macrophotography: Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-NiteCC1 filter.132

Ultraviolet

Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-NiteCC1 filter and Kodak Wratten 2E filter.133

High-Resolution Visible Light (and Ultraviolet)

Sinar P3 camera with Sinarback eVolution 75 H (B+W 486 UV/IR cut MRC filter).134

Microscopy and Photomicrographs

Sample and cross-sectional analysis using a Zeiss Axioplan2 research microscope equipped with reflected light/UV fluorescence and a Zeiss AxioCam MRc5 digital camera. Types of illumination used: darkfield, differential interference contrast (DIC), and UV. In situ photomicrographs with a Wild Heerbrugg M7A StereoZoom microscope fitted with an Olympus DP71 microscope digital camera.135

X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF)

Several spots on the painting were analyzed in situ with a Bruker/Keymaster TRACeR III-V with rhodium tube.136

Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM)

Zeiss Universal research microscope.137

Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX)

Cross sections analyzed after carbon coating with a Hitachi S-3400N-II VP-SEM with an Oxford EDS and a Hitachi solid-state BSE detector. Analysis was performed at the Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental (NUANCE) Center, Electron Probe Instrumentation Center (EPIC) facility.138

Automated Thread Counting

Thread count and weave information were determined by Thread Count Automation Project software.^[77]139

Image Registration Software

Overlay images registered using a novel image-based algorithm developed by Damon M. Conover (GW), John K. Delaney (GW, NGA), and Murray H. Loew (GW) of the George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.^[78]140

Image Inventory

The image inventory compiles records of all known images of the artwork on file in the Conservation Department, the Imaging Department, and the Department of Medieval to Modern European Painting and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago (fig. 22.40).
141

Fig. 22.40
Location/Negative #	Format	Purpose	Date	Lighting, Notes
S1112			Unknown
M5413			Unknown
C39826	8 × 10 B&W negative		Unknown
Conservation	Color slide	Midtreatment	Unknown	Normal, detail; partially cleaned
Conservation	Color slide	Midtreatment	Unknown	Normal, detail; partially cleaned
C23035	8 × 10 B&W negative		1956	Normal, overall
Conservation	8 × 10 B&W negative	Pretreatment	June 1, 1983	Normal, overall
Conservation	8 × 10 B&W negative	Pretreatment	June 1, 1983	Normal, detail
Conservation	8 × 10 B&W negative	Pretreatment	June 1, 1983	Ultraviolet, overall
Conservation	35 mm color slide	Pretreatment	June 1, 1983	Normal, overall (4 total)
Conservation	35 mm color slide	Pretreatment	June 1, 1983	Normal, details (10 total)
E14204	4 × 5 CT		Apr. 9, 1986	Normal; on envelope: “hair, specks in sky”
Conservation	X-ray	Research	Jan. 8, 2002	Overall, cropped
132158	Digital	Exhibition	Nov. 2008	Annotated conservation image E14204
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	Normal, overall (3 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	Raking light, overall (2 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	Ultraviolet, overall (2 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	Infrared (Fuji, 1000B/2 mm filter), overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	Transmitted light, overall (2 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	Transmitted infrared (Fuji, 1000B/2 mm filter), overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	Macro details (18 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17, 2010	X-ray films scanned/digitally composited, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 17–18, 2010	Detail images of verso, labels (13 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 22, 2010	Infrared (Inframetrics, 1.5–1.73 µm filter), overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 22, 2010	Photomicrographs of surface (25 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 25–26, 2010	Macro details (7 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 1, 2010	Photomicrographs of surface (8 total)
G39102	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 18, 2012	Ultraviolet, overall
G39100	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 19, 2012	Normal, overall; composite of G39248–G39267
G39248–G39267	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 19, 2012	Sections (20 total)
G39101	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 20, 2012	Normal, frame only
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 20, 2012	Infrared (Goodrich, 1.5–1.7 µm filter), overall

The Departure of the Boats, Étretat, 1885 (Cat. 23)

Technical Summary

Claude Monet’s Departure of the Boats, Étretat was painted on a pre-primed, no. 30 portrait (figure) standard-size linen canvas. The ground is off-white and consists of a single layer. There is a stamp from the color merchant Vieille & Troisgros on the original canvas back. The canvas weave exhibits a warp-thread match with Monet’s Étretat: The Beach and the Falaise d’Amont ([W1012], inv. 1964.204) (cat. 21) and Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île ([W1095], inv. 1964.210) (cat. 24), suggesting that the fabric for these paintings came from the same bolt of material.^[79] The composition was built up with little deviation from the initial lay-in. It was carried out in several sessions, with a large degree of wet-in-wet paint application in the upper layers. Technical examination revealed some minor revisions including painted-out forms on the left side of the beach, possibly related to the fishing accoutrements, the painting out of what may have been a second window on the upper floor of the stone building, and the addition of some figures to the crowd of people on the right side of the work.^[80]142

Multilayer Interactive Image Viewer

The multilayer interactive image viewer is designed to facilitate the viewer’s exploration and comparison of the technical images (fig. 23.1).^[81]143

Across the top, a pale sky meets a blue‑green sea dotted with many small boats, most carrying dark red sails. Below them, a pink‑tan beach holds scattered groups of small human figures near the waterline, with a green boat to the left and a yellow boat near the center‑right. In the foreground, large dark gray‑blue huts with steep roofs fill the center and left, surrounded by wooden planks and a few barrels, while a tall stone building with green windows stands at the far right. The huts appear much larger than the distant boats and figures, emphasizing their position in the foreground. — Natural Light

Top to bottom: the upper area shows a wide, light-gray expanse dotted with many small, dark, triangular-roofed shelters. The lower area has two large, dark, pitched-roof structures occupying the center-left and center-right, separated by lighter ground, with a tall, pale wall running down the right edge; similar but smaller shelters appear farther back. Colors are black, gray, and white. Thin white vertical bars run near the center, and white bracket-like marks sit at all four corners. — X-Ray

At the top, a wide expanse of water in shades of gray is dotted left to right with many small sailboats. Below, a beach holds two dark rowboats and a dense group of small figures near the shoreline, with a few other figures scattered nearby. In the foreground, three large huts with steep, ridged roofs occupy the center, while a tall textured building stands along the right edge; these structures appear much larger than the distant people and boats. — Infrared Reflectogram (0.9–1.7 µm)

Top half shows a green-blue sea with several boats, each with dark red-brown sails, scattered across the water. Along the shoreline, a sandy strip holds a cluster of small, dark figures near the water’s edge, and the distant boats appear smaller than the large structures in front. In the foreground, three large dark gray huts with steep roofs sit close together, with scattered logs and a small black boat to the left. At the far right, a tall stone building with green shutters frames the scene. — Raking Light

Top area shows teal-blue water with multiple dark brown boats carrying tall triangular sails scattered across it. Along the middle shore, clusters of small dark human figures stand near boats, including a yellow-green one on the right. In the foreground, several large dark huts with steep roofs and orange-red edges sit beside a taller gray building on the far right, with the huts much larger than the figures. Strong orange-red highlights are visible against deep blues and blacks throughout. — Transmitted Light

Top to bottom: the upper half shows a mottled gray area with several faint triangular shapes and scattered short vertical marks. The middle and lower halves feature three large triangle-like forms, the largest slightly left of center, another to the right, and a smaller one near the lower left, with smaller blocky shapes clustered around them. A dark vertical seam divides the view into left and right halves, and a dark border surrounds the edges, with tones ranging from light gray to near black. — Transmitted Infrared (1.0–1.1 µm)

Top: a blue sea fills the upper half, dotted with many small sailboats with brown sails, smaller toward the horizon. Middle: a pale shoreline runs left to right, with several boats near the water and clusters of small, dark human figures gathered along the beach. Foreground: three large, dark-gray huts with sloped roofs sit near the center and left, while a tall stone building with a greenish window stands on the right; scattered logs and gear lie on the ground. The huts and building are much larger than the figures, and the nearest boats appear bigger than those farther out. — Ultraviolet

Fig. 23.1

Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Signature

Signed and dated: Claude Monet 85 (lower left corner, name in orange-red paint, year in reddish-brown paint^[82]) (fig. 23.2). The signature and date appear to have been applied at the same time, when the paint layers beneath were already dry.
144

Top area shows a green-blue sea dotted with many sailboats, most with dark red triangular sails. Across the middle, a pale beach holds scattered groups of small human figures near two beached boats, one green and one yellow. In the foreground, three large dark huts with blue-gray roofs sit among long boards and other objects, and along the right edge stands a stone-colored building with green shutters; elements shrink from the large huts in front to tiny boats near the horizon. — Fig. 23.2

Detail of Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing the signature. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Structure and Technique

Support

Canvas
Flax (commonly known as linen).^[83]145

Standard format
The original dimensions were approximately 73.3 × 92.5 cm. This corresponds closely to a no. 30 portrait (figure) standard-size canvas (92 × 73 cm), turned horizontally.^[84]146

Weave
Plain weave. Average thread count (standard deviation): 26.9H (0.8) × 28.5V (0.7) threads/cm.^[85] The vertical threads were determined to correspond to the warp and the horizontal threads to the weft. A warp-thread match was found with Étretat: The Beach and the Falaise d’Amont (cat. 21 [W1012], inv. 1964.204) (cat. 21) and Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (cat. 24 [W1095], inv. 1964.210) (cat. 24).^[86]147

Canvas characteristics
There is relatively even cusping around all four edges. The cusping is stronger on the left and right sides.148

Stretching
Current stretching: The current stretching dates to the 1962 conservation treatment; copper tacks spaced approximately 7–8 cm apart (see Conservation History).149

Original stretching: Tack holes, spaced approximately 5–7.5 cm apart, correspond to cusping in the canvas.150

Stretcher/strainer
Current stretcher: ICA spring stretcher. Depth: 2.5 cm.151

Original stretcher: Discarded. The pre-1962-treatment stretcher may have been the original stretcher. According to the 1962 examination report, the previous stretcher was a five-membered stretcher with a vertical crossbar.^[87] Depth: Based on the presence of an additional crease in the tacking edge fabric, presumably where excess canvas was folded over the back edge of the stretcher, the original stretcher depth would have been approximately 1.8 cm.152

Manufacturer’s/ supplier’s marks
A supplier’s stamp on the back of the canvas was transcribed before the painting was wax-resin lined in 1962 (see Conservation History) (text within palette-shaped frame):^[88]153

HA [sic] … T TROIS GROS [sic] / 39 [sic] RUE DE … / PARIS / … / …^[89] (fig. 23.3)
154

At the top, red uppercase text reads “5 DISTINGUISHING MARKS” on pale paper with a light blue grid. Below on the left, blue cursive handwriting says: Stamp on reverse: “Falaises d’Etretat”. On the right, a small pencil sketch shaped like a painter’s palette contains faint lettering, with “PARIS” clearly visible. At the bottom left, more blue handwriting reads “22 429” in red. — Fig. 23.3

Transcription of a supplier’s stamp on the back of the original canvas of Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Only a faint trace of the canvas stamp was visible in transmitted infrared (fig. 23.4).
155

Grayscale scene divided by a faint vertical seam down the center. From the bottom up, large cone-like triangular forms fill the lower half, with the biggest shapes at lower center and lower right and smaller similar forms clustered around them. The upper half contains scattered smaller triangles and irregular light and dark patches, with darker areas along the top edge and right side. — Monet 22.428 Non Reg TRNS IR

Fig. 23.4

Transmitted infrared (Fuji, 1.0–1.1 µm) image of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing the placement of the supplier’s stamp on the midright side (from front) of the canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Preparatory Layers

Sizing
Not determined (probably glue).^[90]156

Ground application/texture
There is a single ground layer. It extends to the edges of all four tacking margins, indicating that the canvas was cut from a larger piece of primed fabric, which was probably commercially prepared. The ground layer ranges from approximately 15 to 115 µm in thickness (fig. 23.5).^[91] Some tiny bubble holes were observed in the ground layer where it was exposed at the edges of the painting.
157

Top edge has a thin, jagged white strip beneath a dark gray band. Below it, three adjacent brown, dome-shaped sections run left to right, each with a darker oval center. The lower area is dark gray to nearly black. A scale bar at the bottom left reads 100 μm. — Monet 22.428_x1325_10x_dkfld_c

Foreground shows a sandy shore with three large huts with dark, peaked roofs, scattered planks and stones, and small human figures; the huts are much larger than the people nearby. At the far right, a two-story building made of gray blocks with green doors and shutters borders the beach. Beyond, green-blue water extends to a pale gray-blue sky, with many boats across the surface; several have reddish-brown sails, appearing larger near the shore and smaller toward the horizon. — Sample Location

Fig. 23.5

Photomicrograph of a cross section of the ground and canvas layers of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885). Original magnification: 100×. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Color
Off-white; under magnification, some dark particles are visible (fig. 23.6).
158

Top area shows a beige, dimpled surface with many small round pits. A thin, uneven dark brown line runs horizontally across the center from left to right, with a few tiny bright specks along it; the same beige, pitted surface continues below with slightly darker tan patches. Bottom right contains a white scale bar labeled 5.0 mm. — Monet 22.428_Depart_22_428_s2_bef_a

In the lower-left corner, a framed seascape shows a pale gray-blue sky over green-blue water dotted with many small sailboats, with several larger boats carrying red-brown sails closer to shore. Below, a tan beach holds dark gray-roofed huts and sheds, a few small boats pulled onto the sand, and clusters of small human figures along the waterline; at the far right stands a tall gray stone building with green doors and windows. The framed scene occupies only the lower-left of the overall image, with the rest a plain black background. — Detail Location

Fig. 23.6

Photomicrograph of the upper-left edge of The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing the ground. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Materials/composition
Analysis indicates that the ground contains primarily lead white and calcium carbonate (chalk), with traces of bone black, iron oxide with associated silicates, alumina, aluminum silicate, and silica.^[92] Both the lead white and the chalk exhibit particles and clusters of various sizes (fig. 23.7). Binder: Oil (estimated).
159

Grayscale close-up with a long, uneven bright band running horizontally across the middle, filled with fine white speckles and several larger light patches. Above it is a mostly smooth, medium‑dark gray area; below it are darker gray, wavy layers. Left of center, a larger light oval stands out within the bright band. White text along the bottom shows technical details (“20.0kV 7.8mm x470 BSECOMP 9/10/2013”) and a scale bar labeled 100 micrometers. — Monet 22.428 x1325_w2

At the top, a pale gray sky meets green-blue water dotted with many sailboats, several with red triangular sails. Across the middle, a sandy beach holds clusters of small figures near the shoreline and a few beached boats. In the foreground, three dark huts with slanted roofs occupy the left and center, with scattered items on the ground. Along the right edge, a tall gray stone building with bright green doors and windows faces the beach; the huts and building appear large compared with the people, while the boats become small toward the horizon. — Sample Location

Fig. 23.7

Backscattered electron (BSE) image of a cross section of the ground layer of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Compositional Planning/Underdrawing/Painted Sketch

Extent/character
No underdrawing was observed with infrared reflectography (IRR) or microscopic examination.^[93]160

Paint Layer

Application/technique and artist’s revision
The main compositional elements—the three caloges,^[94] the stone building, the winches, most of the figures, and the boats—were incorporated into the composition early on, either painted directly over the ground layer or wet-in-wet into the first underpainting layer. The beach and the water were then built up around them (fig. 23.8). A border of exposed or thinly painted ground often remains at the edges of the forms (fig. 23.9). This is evident around the sails and some of the figures, particularly around the foreground figure and the open caloge door (fig. 23.10). It looks as if the larger sailboats were articulated with quick strokes of the brush in pale purplish-gray paint. The water was then brought up around the boats, the sails were reinforced using slightly more intense colors, and then the reflections were added in the water (fig. 23.11). Some of the smaller sailboats in the distance were succinctly indicated with a quick brushstroke into the wet underpainting layer of the water; the water was then built up and a final stroke was applied overtop to indicate the sail when the paint from the water was already surface dry (fig. 23.12).
161

At the top, a wide band of pale gray sky meets a darker, textured ground dotted with small, dark tent-like shapes. In the middle and foreground, three large, dark triangular-roofed structures dominate the center with narrow light-gray paths between them, while a tall rough wall runs along the right edge; the nearer structures appear larger than those farther back. A thin white vertical bar divides the scene down the center, and white L-shaped brackets sit in the corners. Colors are shades of black, gray, and white. — Fig. 23.8

X-ray of Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing the buildup of the paint layers. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. X-ray digitally composited by Robert G. Erdmann, University of Arizona.

Top half shows a deep blue-black expanse with several dark triangular shapes of varying sizes scattered across it. A middle band glows with orange-gold highlights tracing many small upright forms and openings, including a bright arch-shaped opening on the right. The lower half is filled by large dark peaked shapes edged with orange, the largest near the center-left, much bigger than the shapes above. Colors are mostly black and deep blue with orange-gold accents. — Fig. 23.9

Transmitted-light image of Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Foreground shows three large, dark huts with steep triangular roofs edged in red‑orange, and a tall gray wall on the right with green window shutters. Across the middle, a sandy shore holds a cluster of small, dark human silhouettes and a yellow‑green boat at the water’s edge, with another small boat on the left. In the background, teal water fills the top half, dotted with many boats carrying dark sails that get smaller toward the distant horizon. — Transmitted Light

Top half shows a pale green-blue sea dotted with many sailboats, most with dark red triangular sails that get smaller toward the horizon. Across the middle, a sandy shore holds groups of small people near the water, a yellow boat at right, and another boat at left. In the foreground, three large dark-roofed huts sit center and left, with scattered long narrow pieces on the ground and one person standing near the left hut; at right, a tall building with green windows and a door faces the shore. Elements in front appear largest, with people and boats decreasing in size into the distance. — Natural Light

Fig. 23.10

Transmitted-light and natural-light details of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing exposed ground at the edges of compositional forms. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. Interactive image.

Top section shows a wide green sea filled with many sailboats, their reddish-brown triangular sails repeating into the distance. Across the middle, a pale sandy beach holds a cluster of small human figures, with a yellow boat and a dark rowboat near the water and scattered long boards on the ground. In the foreground, three large dark sheds with blue‑gray roofs dominate the view, with a few people walking among them and additional objects nearby. At the far right, a tall light‑colored building with green shutters borders the beach. — Fig. 23.11

Detail of a sailboat in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Foreground shows three dark, steep-roofed huts on a pink-beige beach, with scattered planks and a small green boat on the left; a tall stone building with green shutters stands at the right edge. In the middle ground, a loose crowd of small human figures gathers along the shoreline; individual features and skin tones are not discernible. Beyond them, a pale green sea holds many sailboats with reddish-brown sails, larger near shore and smaller toward the horizon, under a light gray-blue sky. — Fig. 23.12

Detail of a sailboat in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

As the painting progressed, the artist moved back and forth between the compositional elements and the background, building up the forms and reinforcing the contours. This can be seen, for example, in the group of figures on the left shoreline. The group was roughly laid in early on, as evidenced by the relative radio-transparency of this area of the painting (fig. 23.13), as well as by glimpses of the thin reddish and bluish-gray paint that was used to lay in the general forms of the figures directly over the ground layer (fig. 23.14). The water was then built up with the thick, horizontal strokes of pale bluish-green paint, and the individual figures were painted wet-in-wet on top (fig. 23.15). The figures themselves were composed with quick gestural strokes, often consisting of incompletely mixed color, with touches of more intense local color applied on top (fig. 23.16). The pinkish-gray paint of the beach was then added, coming up over the figures in places. The group of figures on the right side of the painting seems to have been planned from early on, as some of the figures were painted directly over the ground layer, which remains exposed in between brushstrokes (fig. 23.17). Other figures from the group on the right were added wet-in-wet over the water (in the case of the figures on the far left) and over the dry paint of the beach (the figures at the lower center of the group), indicating that the group was expanded as the painting developed.es on the far left) and over the dry paint of the beach (the figures at the lower center of the group), indicating that the group was expanded as the painting developed.
162

Foreground shows several dark, hut- or tent-like structures with steep triangular roofs, the largest centered, another slightly smaller to its right, and a partial one on the left. Along the far right edge, a tall, rough wall runs vertically with a narrow, lighter path at its base leading inward. In the middle ground and background, smaller roofed or tent shapes are scattered across uneven ground, becoming smaller and lighter as they recede. Colors are shades of gray, from near-black roofs to light gray ground and sky. — X-Ray

At the top, a pale gray sky meets blue-green water filled with many small boats, most with reddish-brown triangular sails. Across the middle, a pinkish beach has groups of small human figures near the shoreline, with a dark green rowboat and a yellow boat close to the water. In the foreground, three large dark huts with blue-gray pitched roofs sit close together, with scattered planks and barrels nearby; a beached boat and wood piles are on the left. On the right edge, a tall stone building with green windows borders the scene; the huts are the largest elements, while the boats are small and scattered into the distance. — Natural Light

Fig. 23.13

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing the buildup of the paint layers. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. Interactive image.

Foreground bottom-to-top: three large dark huts with blue‑gray roofs occupy most of the lower area, with scattered planks and a person near the left; a tall stone building with green shutters stands along the right edge. Midground: a sandy beach holds several small groups and a larger crowd of people by the waterline, with a few small boats and gear, including a yellow boat near the right. Background: green water fills the upper half, dotted with many sailboats carrying dark red‑brown triangular sails that appear smaller toward the horizon beneath a pale sky. — Fig. 23.14

Detail of a group of figures in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Top area shows a light green field with curved ridges of purple-blue running across it. From the center toward the lower right, thicker, shiny ridges of deep blue form several elongated, rounded shapes. Mid-left includes a couple of small gray-brown shapes within the light green, and tiny tan specks are scattered in the pale areas. Along the left edge, a vertical white scale is labeled 1.0 cm. — Monet 22.428 MIC 18

On the left, a tall brown and purple rocky cliff sits beside a wide area of pale green water. Along the lower center and right foreground, a small group of people appear as small figures on a light pink and beige shore, wearing blue, brown, and gray. A slanted gray surface borders the lower right edge, while the green water fills most of the upper and right portions of the scene. — Detail Location

Fig. 23.15

Photomicrograph of a figure in The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing some wet-in-wet paint application. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Top area shows horizontal bands of green and blue with fine, parallel ridges. Upper center contains a rounded, dark blue-violet swirl above a darker purple patch, both with raised, wavy texture. Lower center has irregular purple and red areas blending into surrounding light blue and green. A vertical white scale bar on the left margin is labeled 1.0 cm. — Monet 22.428 MIC 16

Upper area shows pale green-blue sky with a few small blue-gray patches. Midsection features a tall brown-purple cliff on the left meeting green water that extends across the center and right. Lower area has a pink and gray sandy shore with a small cluster of distant people, shown as small dark figures with hints of blue and red clothing. A long gray structure runs diagonally along the bottom right edge, and the figures appear small compared to the large cliff. — Detail Location

Fig. 23.16

Photomicrograph of a figure in The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Top area shows a light green sea dotted with many small sailboats, most with red-brown triangular sails. In the middle, a pale sandy shore holds groups of small human figures and a few beached boats, including a yellow one near the right. Foreground features three large dark huts with bluish-gray roofs and piles of timber, while at the far right a stone building with green shutters frames the edge. The huts are the largest elements; the people are much smaller, and the boats on the water range from small to medium, becoming smaller farther away. — Fig. 23.17

Detail of a group of figures in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428

Technical imaging has revealed a few minor revisions to the painting. In the upper half of the stone building, there is a broad, radio-opaque, vertical stroke near the right edge (fig. 23.18). Although the paint here is handled differently from the way the other windows of this building were composed, the size, shape, and placement of the strong vertical stroke seems to echo that of the other extant windows, perhaps suggesting that a second upper-story window was planned and then subsequently blocked out with the vertical stroke.^[95] In the water, just above the building, two relatively radio-transparent areas in the X-ray suggest that either the small, three-sailed boat was originally laid in slightly to the upper left of its current position or that one or two smaller boats were planned (fig. 23.19). A small modification was also made to the discarded winch in the foreground. The X-ray shows that the winch was laid in at a slightly different angle compared to the final painting (fig. 23.20). Some possible revisions on the left shore are revealed with the aid of infrared reflectography. Between the small boat and the caloge, there are three or four vertical forms that have been partially covered by paint from the beach and the diagonal poles. Traces of the underlying paint related to these vertical features remain visible on the surface (fig. 23.21), becoming slightly more discernible in the infrared image (fig. 23.22). It is unclear whether these are props raising the ends of the poles off the ground, or whether they could possibly have been conceived as figures (the form on the far right, which is roughly circular at the top, looks similar to how some of the distant figures were rendered) (fig. 23.23). On the shoreline near the left edge, another form is visible in the infrared reflectogram (fig. 23.24). Reddish-brown paint from this underlying form can also be seen through breaks in the brushwork of the beach and the water, applied on top (fig. 23.25). It is not clear what this form may have represented. Other minor adjustments were made to the contours of forms as the painting was built up; for example, on the middle caloge, the back peak of the roof seems to have been shifted slightly to the left, between the initial planning and the final painting (fig. 23.26).
163

Top to bottom, a gray landscape stretches across the top with small, dark triangular structures scattered in the distance. In the middle, two large, dark structures with steep triangular roofs dominate the scene, with smaller shapes around them and a narrow light path between. Along the right edge stands a tall, rough wall beside a lighter path, where a few small, indistinct human figures appear. The entire view is in shades of black, gray, and white, with light rectangular corner markers and a vertical bar running down the center overlaying the scene. — X-Ray

Top section: a green-blue sea stretches across, dotted with many small boats that have reddish-brown triangular sails, becoming smaller toward the distant horizon. Middle section: a pale sandy shore runs left to right with a crowd of small figures near the waterline, a yellow boat near the right, a dark green boat on the left, and stacked long narrow pieces lying nearby. Foreground: several large dark huts with blue‑gray pitched roofs occupy the bottom center, while a tall gray building with green windows stands on the right and two small human figures walk near the huts, emphasizing the huts as larger than the distant boats and people. — Natural Light

Fig. 23.18

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing a change made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. Interactive image.

Foreground shows three large dark, triangular-roofed structures, two on the right and one centered, with a narrow light path winding between them. Along the right edge, a tall, rough-looking wall runs vertically with lighter ground at its base. In the middle and background, many smaller hut- or tent-like shapes scatter across open terrain and become lighter and smaller into the distance, with a few tiny, indistinct human figures near some structures. The scene is rendered in shades of black, white, and gray. — X-Ray

Top half shows a pale turquoise sea dotted with many small boats, most carrying dark red triangular sails that recede into the distance. In the middle along the shore, a group of small figures gathers near beached boats, including a yellow one toward the right. Foreground features three large, dark, steep‑roofed huts with scattered planks and a small boat on the left, and at the far right a tall light-colored building with green windows. — Natural Light

Fig. 23.19

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing a change made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. Interactive image.

Foreground shows three large, dark, tent‑like structures with triangular roofs, separated by lighter gray paths and rough ground. Along the right edge, a tall textured wall runs upward with a narrow walkway beside it. In the background, smaller tent‑like shapes and uneven terrain recede toward the top in lighter grays. Colors are black, white, and gray; a thin white vertical line divides the center, and white bracket‑like marks appear at the four corners. — X-Ray

At the top, a pale green-blue sea stretches across, dotted left-to-right with many boats carrying dark red sails, smaller in the distance and larger near shore. Across the middle, a sandy beach holds several small groups of people, with a dark green boat to the left and a yellow boat near the right side by the water. In the foreground, three large huts with dark gray-blue roofs sit on the sand beside wood planks and scattered objects, and on the far right a tall stone building with green shutters borders the area; these foreground structures are much larger than the figures and boats. — Natural Light

Fig. 23.20

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing a change made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. Interactive image.

Across the top, a pale sky sits above a wide green-blue sea dotted with many sailboats, most with large reddish-brown triangular sails; nearer boats look larger while smaller sails recede into the distance. In the middle ground along the shore, clusters of small figures gather near the waterline, with a yellow boat close to them, a dark rowboat at left, and scattered long planks on the sand. In the foreground, three dark sheds with blue‑gray peaked roofs fill much of the lower half, the largest near the center-right, and at the far right a tall gray, brick-patterned building with green shutters frames the scene. — Fig. 23.21

Detail of the beach in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

At the top, a light gray sky meets a gray sea dotted left to right with many small boats carrying dark triangular sails. Below, along the shoreline, clusters of small dark figures stand near several small boats, with a larger dark boat near the right side and a tall rectangular building with small windows along the far-right edge. In the foreground, three large peaked-roof huts occupy the center and left, with scattered long, flat rectangular pieces and small items around them; the huts appear much larger than the distant boats and people. All elements appear in shades of gray to black. — Infrared Reflectogram (0.9–1.7 µm)

At the top, a hazy green-blue sea is dotted with many boats, most with red-brown sails, some near the shore and others farther out. In the middle, a pale pink-beige beach holds a cluster of small, indistinct figures near the water and a yellow boat, with a few separate boats and piles of timber nearby. In the foreground, three large dark gray-blue huts with steep roofs occupy the center, with scattered boards and barrels around them, and a light stone building with green shutters stands along the right edge. The huts are largest in scale, while the people and distant boats appear small. — Natural Light

Fig. 23.22

Infrared reflectogram (Goodrich, 0.9–1.7 µm) and natural-light details of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing changes made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. Interactive image.

Foreground shows three large hut-like structures with steep, ridged roofs, with a partial roof at far left, all in light to dark gray tones. To the right stands a tall rectangular building with a few windows, and between it and the huts is open ground with several small, indistinct figures. Near the shoreline in the midground, a tight group of figures stands beside a couple of small boats pulled up on land. In the background, many boats with large triangular sails are spread across the water under a pale gray sky, making the shore figures appear small by comparison. — Fig. 23.23

Infrared reflectogram (Goodrich, 0.9–1.7 µm) of forms on the beach in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

At the top, a pale gray sky meets a wide body of water dotted with many small boats, each showing triangular sails in mid to dark gray. Across the middle, the shoreline includes a few darker gray boats and a cluster of small, dark figures near the center-right. In the foreground, three large huts with steep roofs fill the center with a partial hut at lower left, while a tall building with several dark openings lines the right edge and scattered planks lie on the light gray ground; elements in front appear larger, with boats and figures getting smaller toward the distance. — Infrared Reflectogram (0.9–1.7 µm)

At the top, a green-blue sea stretches across with many small boats, most carrying tall dark red sails, some near the shore and others farther out. In the middle, a beach area holds groups of people near the water beside a yellow boat and a green boat. In the foreground, several huts with dark gray-blue roofs sit among scattered long pieces on the ground, with a few people walking between them. Along the right edge stands a light-colored building with multiple green-shuttered windows. — Natural Light

Fig. 23.24

Infrared reflectogram (Goodrich, 0.9–1.7 µm) and natural-light details of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing a change made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428. Interactive image.

Top section shows a pale green sea dotted with many sailboats, most with brown triangular sails; nearer boats are larger with visible hulls, while distant ones are small dark shapes. Along the shoreline, groups of small figures stand near the water, with a yellow boat and a green boat nearby. In the foreground, three large dark huts with blue-gray roofs sit on a pinkish-beige beach, with scattered planks and a low dark boat resting on the sand at left. Along the right edge, a tall light-gray stone building with green shutters and doors runs down the side. — Fig. 23.25

Detail of the beach in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing a painted-out form. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Top: a pale blue-gray sky over green water dotted with many sailboats, each with dark red sails that appear smaller toward the distance. Middle: a tan beach with clusters of small figures near a few beached boats and light-colored planks. Bottom foreground: three large dark buildings with blue-gray roofs sit among scattered boards with two standing figures nearby. Far right: a tall gray building with green shutters borders the scene. — Fig. 23.26

Detail of a *caloge* in Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) showing a change made to the roof. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Painting tools
Brushes, including 1.0 and 1.5 cm width, flat ferrule (based on width and shape of brushstrokes). There are a few brush hairs embedded in the paint layer.164

Palette
Analysis indicates the presence of the following pigments: lead white, cadmium yellow, chrome yellow, vermilion, red lake, viridian, emerald green, cobalt blue, and ultramarine blue.^[96] UV fluorescence of some of the red strokes indicates the use of red lake throughout the painting, except in the water.^[97] Cross-sectional analysis reveals that Monet sometimes used surprisingly complex pigment mixtures; for example, the dull gray caloge roof contains a mixture of several brightly colored pigments (fig. 23.27).
165

A small, wedge-shaped fragment rests on a dark background, with a 50 µm scale bar at the lower right. From top to bottom, a thin gray band with many tiny colored specks—blue, green, purple, and orange—lies above a thicker bright white layer marked by a few small, rounded holes. The speckled band is uneven and runs along the top edge, while the white layer makes up most of the height and narrows toward both ends. — Monet 22.428_x1322_20x_DIC

Top section shows a pale blue‑green sea under a light gray sky, dotted with small boats; the nearer boats have large reddish‑brown sails and those farther away look smaller. Across the middle, a tan shoreline holds groups of tiny human figures and a dark green rowboat, while a tall gray stone building with a bright green door and window stands at the right edge. In the foreground, several dark gray, steep‑roofed huts cluster on the sand with scattered planks and rocks around them, and a few small figures stand nearby. — Detail Location

Fig. 23.27

Photomicrograph of a cross section of the paint and ground layers from the caloge roof on the left side of Monet’s The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885) showing a complex pigment mixture. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Binding media
Oil (estimated).^[98]166

Surface Finish

Varnish layer/media
The painting was cleaned in 2006 and left unvarnished (see Conservation History).167

Conservation History

The painting was cleaned and varnished in 1922.^[99]168

In 1962, discolored varnish was removed. A spray coat of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) AYAA was applied, followed by a final spray coat of methacrylate resin L-46. The previous lining was removed. The canvas was wax-resin lined and restretched on a new ICA spring stretcher.^[100]169

In 2006, the synthetic varnish applied in 1962, as well as older, yellowed, natural-resin varnish residues, were removed. A few tiny spots were inpainted. The surface was left unvarnished.^[101]170

In 2007, a small fragment of original canvas that had come loose from the lining canvas was readhered.^[102]171

Condition Summary

The painting is in good condition. The canvas is wax-resin lined and stretched taut on an ICA spring stretcher. The tacking margins show some wear and abrasion from handling. The ground and paint layers are secure with only a few tiny losses near the edges and minimal retouching. There are a few brush hairs embedded in the paint layer. Some flattening of the paint around the edges appears to be the result of framing while the paint was still soft. There is a network of fine cracks (visible, for the most part, only under magnification) with more pronounced cracking in areas of thick paint application. The surface is currently unvarnished, although there are microscopic residues of yellowed varnish in the recesses of the paint texture.

Kimberley Muir
172

Frame

Current frame (installed by 2011): The frame is not original to the painting. It is an Italian, eighteenth-century, Salvator Rosa, plain-molded, scotia frame with ogee back and stepped ogee sight molding. The frame is water gilded over thin yellow bole on gesso. The convex top molding is burnished, with all other areas matte. The scotia sides and back flat edge are painted in yellow ocher. The original glue size is retained throughout. The frame is made of poplar with applied mitered back, front, and sight moldings on a half-lapped cassetta base. The molding, from perimeter to interior, is ogee; scotia side; convex face with treacle back edge; stepped fillet; scotia; ogee; torus; stepped ogee; and cove (fig. 23.28).^[103]
173

Top section shows a green-blue sea to the horizon, dotted left to right with many small boats, most with dark red sails. Across the middle, a pale sandy shore holds small groups of people; a green boat sits near the water at left and a yellow boat floats close to shore at right. In the foreground, three large dark blue‑gray huts with steep roofs sit among scattered wooden planks, and a tall stone building with green shutters runs up the right edge; the huts are large compared to the smaller, distant people and boats. — Fig. 23.28

Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) in its current frame. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.428.

Previous frame (installed by 1975; removed in 2011): The work was previously housed in an American, twentieth-century, Louis XIII, gilded, convex frame with acanthus-leaf-and-flower motif, plain hollow, and ogee sight molding with cabled flower motif. The frame also had an independent fillet liner with cove sight (fig. 23.29).^[104]
174

Gallery room with olive walls and warm lighting displays five framed pictures, with “1884–1890” centered on the wall. From left to right: a seashore with rows of brown tents and blue‑gray water; above center, a pale green bridge over a pond with pink and green plants; below it, two people in light clothing on a garden path under trees; to the right, a smaller square scene of boats with dark brown sails on blue water; far right, a building with arches among green plants under a light blue sky. The frames are ornate gold, a low metal barrier sits in the right corner, and no people are present in the room. — Fig. 23.29

Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) in a previous frame, installed in *Paintings by Monet*, Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 15–May 11, 1975. Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago.

Previous frame (installed by 1933): Late-nineteenth–early-twentieth-century, Rococo Revival frame with cast plaster foliate rocaille cartouches and rocaille ornament with independent fillet liner and cove sight (fig. 23.30).
175

Wide room in grayscale with a light gray wall, white trim, and a dark floor. From left to right, three medium, similarly sized, decorative-framed pictures hang evenly; at center-right a dark doorway opens to a smaller room with a single window, and a fourth framed picture is partially visible at the far right. A small rectangular plaque sits above the doorway, and a dark wooden piece of furniture appears in the bottom-right foreground. — Fig. 23.30

Monet’s *The Departure of the Boats, Étretat* (1885) in a previous frame, installed in *“A Century of Progress”: Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture*, Art Institute of Chicago, May 23–Nov. 1, 1933. Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago.

Kirk Vuillemot
176

Sold by the artist to Durand-Ruel, Paris, Dec. 21, 1892, for 6,000 francs.^[105]177

Sold by Durand-Ruel, Paris, to Potter Palmer, Chicago, Dec. 21, 1892, for 6,000 francs.^[106]178

By descent from Potter Palmer (died 1902), Chicago, to his wife, Bertha Honoré Palmer, Chicago.179

On deposit from Bertha Honoré Palmer, Chicago, to Durand-Ruel, New York, Mar. 17, 1909–May 9, 1911.^[107]180

By descent from Bertha Honoré Palmer (died 1918), Chicago, to the Palmer family.181

Given by the Palmer family to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.
182

Art Institute of Chicago, “A Century of Progress”: Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, May 23–Nov. 1, 1933, cat. 293.^[108] (fig. 23.31)
183

Art Institute of Chicago, “A Century of Progress”: Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture for 1934, June 1–Oct. 31, 1934, cat. 211.^[109]184

Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art, The Spirit of Modern France: An Essay on Painting in Society, 1745–1946, Nov.–Dec. 1946, cat. 49; Toronto, Art Gallery of Toronto, Jan.–Feb. 1947.185

Art Institute of Chicago, The Paintings of Claude Monet, Apr. 1–June 15, 1957, no cat. no.^[110]186

Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings by Monet, Mar. 15–May 11, 1975, cat. 17 (ill.). (fig. 23.32)
187

Highland Park (Ill.), Neison Harris, May 29, 1984–May 13, 1985, no cat.^[111]188

Tokyo, Seibu Museum of Art, Shikago bijutsukan insho-ha ten [The Impressionist tradition: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago], Oct. 18–Dec. 17, 1985, cat. 43 (ill.); Fukuoka Art Museum, Jan. 5–Feb. 2, 1986; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Mar. 4–April 13, 1986.189

Art Institute of Chicago, Seurat and the Making of “La Grande Jatte,” June 19–Sept. 19, 2004, cat. 98 (ill.).
190

Art Institute of Chicago, Handbook of Sculpture, Architecture, and Paintings, pt. 2, Paintings (Art Institute of Chicago, 1922), p. 68, cat. 832.^[112]191

Art Institute of Chicago, “Accessions and Loans,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 16, 3 (May 1922), p. 47.192

Art Institute of Chicago, A Guide to the Paintings in the Permanent Collection (Art Institute of Chicago, 1925), pp. 63 (ill.); 146, cat. 832.193

M. C., “Monets in the Art Institute,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 19, 2 (Feb. 1925), pp. 19, 21 (ill.).194

Art Institute of Chicago, A Guide to the Paintings in the Permanent Collection (Art Institute of Chicago, 1932), pp. 60 (ill.); 164, cat. 22.428.195

Art Institute of Chicago, Catalogue of “A Century of Progress”: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture; Lent from American Collections, ed. Daniel Catton Rich, 3rd. ed., exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1933), p. 43, cat. 293.196

Daniel Catton Rich, “Französische Impressionisten im Art Institute zu Chicago,” Pantheon: Monatsschrift für freunde und sammler der kunst 11, 3 (Mar. 1933), pp. 75 (ill.), 77. Translated by C. C. H. Drechsel as “French Impressionists in the Art Institute of Chicago,” Pantheon/Cicerone (Mar. 1933), p. 18.197

Art Institute of Chicago, Catalogue of “A Century of Progress”: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, 1934, ed. Daniel Catton Rich, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1934), p. 37, cat. 211.198

“Fourteen Notable Modern Paintings,” Fortune 9 (Jan. 1934), p. 33 (ill.).199

Art Institute of Chicago, “Special Offer Members May Now Rent Reproductions of Famous Paintings in the Art Institute,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 31, 4 (Apr.–May, 1937), p. 60.200

George Slocombe, “Giver of Light,” Coronet (Mar. 1938), p. 21 (ill.).201

Lionello Venturi, Les archives de l’impressionnisme: Lettres de Renoir, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley et autres; Mémoires de Paul Durand-Ruel; Documents, vol. 1 (Durand-Ruel, 1939), pp. 74, 347.202

Charles Fabens Kelley, “Boats in Winter Quarters: A Painting by Claude Monet,” Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 7, 1941, (ill.).^[113]203

Toledo Museum of Art and Art Gallery of Toronto, The Spirit of Modern France: An Essay on Painting in Society, 1745–1946, exh. cat. (Rous and Mann [1946]), cat. 49.204

Oscar Reuterswärd, Monet: En konstnärshistorik (Bonniers, 1948), opp. p. 160 (ill.); p. 284.205

Lionello Venturi, Impressionisti e Simbolisti: Da Manet a Lautrec … (Del Turco, 1950), pp. 61; 211; fig. 58. Translated by Francis Steegmuller as Impressionists and Symbolists: Manet, Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, Cezanne, Seurat, Gauguin, van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950), pp. 63–64; fig. 58.206

Art Institute of Chicago, “Catalogue,” Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 51, 2 (Apr. 1, 1957), p. 33.207

Art Institute of Chicago, “Homage to Claude Monet,” Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 51, 2 (Apr. 1, 1957), p. 23 (ill.).208

Margaretta Salinger, Claude Monet (1840–1926) (Abrams, 1957), pl. 31.209

Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Art Institute of Chicago, 1961), p. 320.^[114]210

Grace Seiberling, “The Evolution of an Impressionist,” in Paintings by Monet, ed. Susan Wise, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1975), pp. 24, 25–26.211

Susan Wise, ed., Paintings by Monet, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1975), p. 71, cat. 17 (ill.).212

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 174; 175, cat. 1025 (ill.); 268, letters 628, 629.213

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 3, Peintures, 1887–1898 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 268, letter 1168; 269, letter 1172, 1173; 274, letter 1218.214

Robert Herbert, “Method and Meaning in Monet,” Art in America 67, 5 (Sept. 1979), pp. 103, fig. 16; 105; 108.215

Richard R. Brettell, “Monet’s Haystacks Reconsidered,” Museum Studies 11, 1 (Autumn 1984), pp. 7; 19, fig. 17.216

Art Institute of Chicago, Seibu Museum of Art, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, and Fukuoka Art Museum, eds. Shikago bijutsukan insho-ha ten [The Impressionist tradition: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago], trans. Akihiko Inoue, Hideo Namba, Heisaku Harada and Yoko Maeda, exh. cat. (Nippon Television Network, 1985), pp. 93, cat. 43 (ill.); 151, cat. 43 (ill.).217

John House, Monet: Nature into Art (Yale University Press, 1986), p. 189, pl. 236.218

Richard R. Brettell, French Impressionists (Art Institute of Chicago/Abrams, 1987), pp. 79, 81 (ill.), 118.219

Stefan Germer, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” Chicago History 41, 1 (Spring 1987), p. 21 (ill.).220

Yvon Taillandier, Monet, rev. ed. (Crown, 1987), p. 33, n.6.221

Richard Kendall, ed., Monet by Himself: Paintings, Drawings, Pastels, Letters, trans. Bridget Strevens Romer (Macdonald Orbis, 1989), pp. 144 (ill.), 319.222

Margo M. Hobbs, “Bertha Palmer’s Philanthropy in the Arts” (M.A. thesis, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1992), pp. 75; pl. 11.223

Art Institute of Chicago, Treasures of 19th- and 20th-Century Painting: The Art Institute of Chicago, with an introduction by James N. Wood (Art Institute of Chicago/Abbeville, 1993), p. 100 (ill.).224

Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), pp. 103; 107, fig. 116; 114.225

Andrew Forge, Monet, Artists in Focus (Art Institute of Chicago, 1995), pp. 35; 36; 80, pl. 9; 107.226

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, or The Triumph of Impressionism, cat. rais., vol. 1 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 211.227

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 387, cat. 1025 (ill.); 388.228

Debra N. Mancoff, Monet: Nature into Art (Publications International, 2003), pp. 65 (ill.), 128.229

Robert L. Herbert et al., Seurat and the Making of “La Grande Jatte,” exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/University of California Press, 2004), pp. 62; 64, cat. 98 (ill.); 276.230

Eleanor Dwight, ed., The Letters of Pauline Palmer: A Great Lady of Chicago’s First Family (M.T. Train/Scala, 2005), pp. 300 (ill.), 302.231

Heather Lemonedes, Lynn Federle Orr, and David Steel, Monet in Normandy, exh. cat. (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/North Carolina Museum of Art/Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006), p. 136, fig. 60.232

John House and David M. Hopkin, Impressionists by the Sea, exh. cat. (Royal Academy of Arts, London/Thames & Hudson/Abrams, 2007), pp. 139, fig. 44; 140.233

Eric M. Zafran, “Monet in America,” in Wildenstein and Co., Claude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff, exh. cat. (Wildenstein, 2007), p. 112.234

Gloria Groom and Douglas Druick, with the assistance of Dorota Chudzicka and Jill Shaw, The Impressionists: Master Paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Kimbell Art Museum, 2008), p. 108. Simultaneously published as Gloria Groom and Douglas Druick, with the assistance of Dorota Chudzicka and Jill Shaw, The Age of Impressionism at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2008), p. 108.^[115]
235

Documentation from the Durand-Ruel Archives

Inventory number
Stock Durand-Ruel Paris 2548
Paris Stock Book 1891–1901^[116]236

Inventory number
Deposit Durand-Ruel New York 7535
New York Deposit Book 1894–1925^[117]237

Photograph number
Photo Durand-Ruel New York A 1094^[118]
238

Labels and Inscriptions

Undated

Label
Location: backing board
Method: printed label with typewritten script
Content: THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / artist Monet, Claude / title The Departure of the Boats / medium oil on canvas / credit Potter Palmer Collection / acc. # 1922.428 / LZ-341-001 1M 1/90 (Rev. 1/90) (fig. 23.33)
239

Rectangular white label centered on a light tan surface with black printed text. From top to bottom it reads: “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO,” then left-aligned pairs listing “artist Monet, Claude,” “title The Departure of the Boats,” “medium oil on canvas,” “credit Potter Palmer Collection,” and “acc. # 1922.428.” Small text in the lower right reads “LZ-341-001 1M 1/90 (Rev. 1/90).” — Fig. 23.33

Label
Location: stretcher
Method: printed label with typewritten script and green-ink stamp
Content: To / MONET, Claude / Boats in Winter Quarters / Potter Palmer Collection / 1922.428
Stamp: Inventory—1980–1981 (fig. 23.34)240

Top area shows a mottled beige and brown surface with a bluish‑gray band and a small round hole. Below it, a white rectangular label is fastened to a brown strip; the left edge shows the word “To” and two slot holes, and the right edge is torn. Centered black text on the label reads “MONET, Claude,” “Boats in Winter Quarters,” “Potter Palmer Collection,” and “1922.428,” crossed diagonally by a green stamp that reads “Inventory - 1980 - 1981.” — Fig. 23.34

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten script
Content: 6318[?] (fig. 23.35)241

From top to bottom, horizontal bands show worn surfaces: a dark brown strip with a peeling yellow layer, followed by a narrow light beige strip. Below that is a wide gray-brown board with faint hand-drawn markings, and near the lower left a small silver-colored metal tab is attached with one screw and hangs downward. Along the lower edge are darker brown and black bands, then a gray-beige textured strip, and at the very bottom a narrow light brown strip with visible grain. — Fig. 23.35

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten script
Content: 318 (fig. 23.36)242

From left to right: a narrow vertical strip in black and tan with a rough, worn texture; a wide dark gray-brown panel in the center with small vertical marks and faint lettering that appears to spell “B I R”; and a slim light beige strip on the right with soft streaks. The central dark panel is the largest area, with the left and right bands much narrower. The elements run vertically and sit directly adjacent to each other. — Fig. 23.36

Number
Location: stretcher
Method: handwritten script
Content: 1922.428 (fig. 23.37)243

At the top edge, irregular off-white patches sit on a medium-brown textured surface. Across the center, dark numerals read “1922.428,” with a small dot separating the groups. Near the bottom, light scratches cross the surface; the numerals are medium in size and extend most of the width from left to right. — Fig. 23.37

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten script
Content: 22.428 (fig. 23.38)244

Top section shows a dark brown wooden bar with the number 22.428 painted in off-white. At the right end, a gray metal eyelet is screwed into the wood with a thin wire attached; small holes and scratches are visible along the surface. Below, a lighter wood strip borders a textured dark surface that has a chipped patch of pale yellow near the lower right, with several small nails visible. — Fig. 23.38

Number
Location: stretcher
Method: handwritten script
Content: 22.428 (fig. 23.39)245

Top area shows a textured gray surface with a narrow lighter edge along its lower border. Below it is a brown horizontal bar marked in thick black handwriting with the numbers “22.428”; a small round hole sits between “22” and “428,” with a small dot just below the hole. The numbers are large, spanning most of the bar’s length. The bottom portion is a darker gray surface. — Fig. 23.39

Number
Location: not documented, probably pre-1962-treatment stretcher; transcription in conservation file
Method: not documented
Content: 22.429 (fig. 23.40)246

On light beige graph paper with pale blue grid lines, handwritten blue text reads “22.429” followed by the words “in red.” The writing runs left to right across the center, spanning about two grid rows and several columns. No other markings or objects are visible. — Fig. 23.40

Number
Location: not documented, probably pre-1962-treatment stretcher; transcription in conservation file
Method: not documented
Content: Caleges d’Etretat (fig. 23.41)247

Close-up of off-white graph paper with a light blue square grid. Across the upper half, blue-purple cursive handwriting reads: Stamp on reverse:. Below it, a second line in quotes reads: "Caleges d’Étretat." The writing runs left to right and spans most of the width. — Fig. 23.41

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten script
Content: M1 (fig. 23.42)248

Top area shows a brown-gray, grain-textured surface with several small pinholes. Near the center are faint white letters “MY” written at a slight slant. The bottom edge has a darker, worn strip, and the lower right has a small yellow metal bracket with a slotted silver screw overlapping the edge. — Fig. 23.42

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten script
Content: R303 (fig. 23.43)249

Top area shows a dark brown, rough surface with worn patches. Centered across the middle, large white characters read “R303,” spanning most of the width. To the left of the “R” is a small irregular hole with lighter brown edges, and the lower area has darker gray-blue scuffs and marks. — Fig. 23.43

Pre-1980

Stamp
Location: original canvas, transcription in conservation file
Method: not documented, text within palette-shaped frame
Content: HA [sic] . . . T TROIS GROS [sic] / 39 [sic] RUE DE . . . / PARIS / . . . / . . .^[119] (fig. 23.44)250

Top-left reads “5 DISTINGUISHING MARKS” in red on light blue graph paper. Below on the left, blue handwriting says: “Stamp on reverse: ‘Falaises d’Etretat’” and on the next line “‘22 429’ in red.” On the right, a light gray pencil oval with a small notch contains faint French words, including “PARIS” and “rue de,” arranged inside and near the edge. Background is cream with blue grid lines. — Fig. 23.44

Post-1980

Stamp
Location: stretcher
Method: green-ink stamp
Content: Inventory—1980–1981 (fig. 23.45)251

Top area shows a reddish-brown wooden surface with shallow scratches. Across the lower portion, faint black stamped text runs left to right; the characters are partially legible and include numerals that appear to form a date range (19xx–19xx). A thin black horizontal line sits just below the text, with a narrow strip of gray surface visible beneath the wood at the very bottom. — Fig. 23.45

Examination and Analysis Techniques

X-radiography

Westinghouse X-ray unit, scanned on Epson Expressions 10000XL flatbed scanner. Scans digitally composited by Robert G. Erdmann, University of Arizona.252

Infrared Reflectography

Goodrich/Sensors Unlimited SU640SDV-1.7RT (no filter: 0.9–1.7 µm); FujifilmS5 Pro with X-Nite 1000B/2 mm filter (1.0–1.1 µm); and Inframetrics Infracam with 1.5–1.73 µm filter.253

Transmitted Infrared

Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-Nite 1000B/2 mm filter (1.0–1.1µm).254

Visible Light

Natural-light, raking-light, and transmitted-light overalls and macrophotography: Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-NiteCC1 filter.255

Ultraviolet

Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-NiteCC1 filter and Kodak Wratten 2E filter.256

High-Resolution Visible Light (and Ultraviolet)

Sinar P3 camera with Sinarback eVolution 75 H (B+W 486 UV/IR cut MRC filter).257

Microscopy and Photomicrographs

Sample and cross-sectional analysis using a Zeiss Axioplan2 research microscope equipped with reflected light/UV fluorescence and a Zeiss AxioCam MRc5 digital camera. Types of illumination used: darkfield, differential interference contrast (DIC), and UV. In situ photomicrographs with a Wild Heerbrugg M7A StereoZoom Microscope fitted with an Olympus DP71 microscope digital camera.258

X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF)

Several spots on the painting were analyzed in situ with a Bruker/Keymaster TRACeR III–V with rhodium tube.259

Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM)

Zeiss Universal research microscope.260

Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX)

Cross sections analyzed after carbon coating with a Hitachi S-3400N-IIVP-SEM with an Oxford EDS and a Hitachi solid-state BSE detector. Analysis was performed at the Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental Center (NUANCE), Electron Probe Instrumentation Center (EPIC) facility.261

Automated Thread Counting

Thread count and weave information were determined by Thread Count Automation Project software.^[120]262

Image Registration Software

Overlay images registered using a novel image-based algorithm developed by Damon M. Conover (GW), John K. Delaney (GW, NGA), and Murray H. Loew (GW) of the George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.^[121]263

Image Inventory

The image inventory compiles records of all known images of the artwork on file in the Conservation Department, the Imaging Department, and the Department of Medieval to Modern European Painting and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago (fig. 23.46).
264

Fig. 23.46
Location/Negative #	Format	Purpose	Date	Lighting, Notes
S1358			Unknown
M6500			Unknown
E10344			Unknown	Normal, overall
Conservation	35 mm color slide		Unknown	Normal, overall
C23759	8 × 10 B&W negative		1958	Normal, overall
Conservation	35 mm color print	Midtreatment	2006?	Normal, 1 overall and 3 details; partially cleaned
G25539	Digital	Posttreatment	Aug. 4, 2006	Normal, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 6, 2010	Transmitted light, overall (4 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 6, 2010	Transmitted infrared (Fuji, 1000B/2 mm filter), overall (2 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 6, 2010	Infrared (Goodrich, no filter), overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 1, 2010	Detail images of verso, labels (10 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	Normal, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	Raking light, overall (2 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	Ultraviolet, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	Infrared (Fuji, 1000B/2 mm filter), overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	Transmitted light, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	Macro details (21 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	Infrared (Inframetrics, 1.5–1.73 µm filter), overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 2, 2010	X-ray films scanned/digitally composited, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 10, 2010	Photomicrographs of surface (36 total)
G39040	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 9, 2012	Ultraviolet, overall
G39041	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 10, 2012	Normal, frame only
G39129–G39148	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 10, 2012	Sections (20 total)
G39039	Digital	OSCI	Jan. 11, 2012	Normal, overall; composite of G39129–G39148

Notes

Boats on the Beach at Étretat (W1024) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388. The Art Institute currently uses the title that is used by the catalogue raisonné. The painting had the following titles during the lifetime of the artist:
June 1911: Strandbild (August L. Mayer, Katalog der aus der Sammlung des Kgl. Rates Marczell von Nemes, Budapest, ausgestellten Gemälde, with a preface by V. Tschudi, exh. cat. [F. Bruckmann, 1911], cat. 34 [ill.]).
June 18, 1913: Plage (see Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, Catalogue des tableaux modernes, collection de M. Marczell de Nemes, sale cat. [Galerie Manzi-Joyant, June 18, 1913], lot 113 [ill.]).
Nov. 15, 1922: La Plage à Etretat (purchase receipt on John Levy Galleries letterhead, dated November 15, 1922, to Mr. C. H. Worcester; curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago).
Nov. 24, 1922: les Barques à Etretat (archival photograph of Boats on the Beach, inscribed by George Bernheim and dated Nov. 24, 1922; curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago).
The Art Institute currently uses the date used by Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.
The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (W1025) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 387, cat. 1025 (ill.); 388. The Art Institute currently uses the title that is used by the catalogue raisonné. The painting had the following titles during the lifetime of the artist:
Dec. 21, 1892: Caloges d’Etretat (Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book 1891–1901 [no. 2548]; see Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013; curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.)
Mar. 17, 1909: Caloges d’Etretat (Durand-Ruel, New York, deposit book 1894–1925 [no. 7535]; see Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013; curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.)
See also Monet, Étretat: The Beach and the Falaise d’Amont (cat. 21).
See Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), p. 100.
Both Monet and Courbet spent time in Étretat in 1868 and 1869, but there is no evidence that they crossed paths. For the Courbet-Monet comparison, see Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), pp. 72, fig. 79; 74, fig. 82. In 1883, a few days after arriving, Monet wrote to Alice Hoschedé about two big paintings he had in mind for his one-man show at Durand-Ruel, one of boats and another of the Falaise d’Aval, “after Courbet.” See Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, or The Triumph of Impressionism, cat. rais., vol. 1 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 184; and Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 223, letter 312.
See Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), pp. 97, 101, who explains that, in both 1883 and 1885, Monet was in Étretat during the off-season for tourism.
“L’après-midi, j’ai travaillé dans ma chambre à mes caloges par la pluie, puis j’ai essayé, toujours par la fenêtre, de faire le départ des bateaux . . . Je voudrais mener à bien un certain nombre des toiles et je voudrais revenir.” Monet to Alice Hoschedé, Nov. 24, 1885; original French in Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 268, letter 628. Monet did not specify where he would like to return—Étretat or Giverny are possibilities. He was having difficulties with the weather, and in a letter written the following day he estimated that, if the weather improved and he could make good progress, then he would stay at the latest until December 10 (“c’est ma dernière limite”). Monet to Alice Hoschedé, Nov. 25, 1885, in Wildenstein, Claude Monet, vol. 2, p. 268, letter 629. A caloge is a retired fishing boat that has been converted into a storehouse by covering the hull with either tarred wooden planks or thatch.
See Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), p. 103, who says Monet’s vantage point for these two paintings was “one of the topmost windows of the building [the Hôtel Blanquet] on the right edge,” and that because of the stone building in both compositions, “we can place Monet in the uppermost corner window of the hotel.” For a description of life at the Hôtel Blanquet, see Louis Chandler Moulton, “At a French Watering-Place,” Random Rambles (Roberts Brothers, 1881), p. 229.
See Robert Herbert, “Method and Meaning in Monet,” Art in America 67, 5 (Sept. 1979), p. 105. For more on Matisse’s stay in Étretat, see Rebecca Rabinow, “The Beach at Étretat,” Matisse: In Search of True Painting, pp. 117–23. It is interesting, too, that Matisse’s composition, painted some thirty-five years later, shows a nearly identical disposition of central caloges to winch.
As Rick Brettell argues, although the size and subject are similar, these could not be meant as a pair, but rather part of the same moment. See Richard R. Brettell, “Monet’s Haystacks Reconsidered,” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 11, 1 (Fall 1984), p. 7.
The number preceded by a W refers to the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vols. 1–4 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996).
It is possible that this was painted from Monet’s room at the “annex,” where he is known to have stayed in 1883 and which Herbert says was on the side of the hotel closer to the Aval. See Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), p. 141, n. 12. The 1885 letters indicate only that he stayed at the Hôtel Blanquet and do not specify whether he was in the main hotel or the annex. He wrote to Alice (Oct. 13, 1885) that “Il fait un froid de loup et de la pluie à chaque instant, cependant hier et aujourd’hui j’ai pas mal travaillé, tant dehors que dans mon escalier” (It is bitterly cold and rains at every moment, however yesterday and today I worked a lot, both outside and in my staircase). In the letters of November 24 and 25 Monet also mentions working from his room, but he does not say where his room was. See Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 262, letter 589; 268, letters 628 and 629.
For further description, see Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), pp. 73, 79. For a discussion of fishing culture in the nineteenth century, see David M. Hopkin, “Fishermen, Tourists and Artists in the Nineteenth Century: The View from the Beach,” in John House and David M. Hopkin, Impressionists by the Sea, exh. cat. (Royal Academy of Arts/Thames & Hudson/Abrams, 2007), pp. 31–37.
This section of the beach is now known as the Terrace Claude Monet. The number preceded by a W refers to the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vols. 1–4 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996).
A cabestan is a type of winch, typically a vertical shaft or drum around which a cable is wound, used for winding ropes or to pull or haul.
Guidebooks described the difficulties of hauling the working boats up the steep shingle (galets) beach without a docking area or natural harbor. See John House and David M. Hopkin, Impressionists by the Sea, exh. cat. (Royal Academy of Arts/Thames & Hudson/Abrams, 2007), p. 140.
As shown in an engraving by Clarkson Stanfield from 1834. See Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), p. 64, fig. 72. These brushstrokes could also be related to the stone forms seen in contemporary photographs of the Étretat beach. See, for example, a photograph by Maurice Davanne, Fishermen’s Workshop, Etretat (1851), reproduced in Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), p. 68, fig. 76.
See “North Peat Letters: Etretat” in A. R. Waller, ed., Gossip from Paris during the Second Empire: Correspondence (1864–1869) of Anthony B. North Peat (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trüber, 1903), pp. 5–6. Summarily rendered, these figures recall the schematic verticals used to designate travelers in the series of paintings on the Gare Saint-Lazare (see, e.g., cat. 16).
Robert Herbert cites an eyewitness account of the women toiling “whilst crowds of men and boys looked on without the slightest offer of putting their own shoulders to the wheel.” Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), p. 106, quoting A. R. Waller, ed., Gossip from Paris during the Second Empire: Correspondence (1864–1869) of Anthony B. North Peat (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1903), p. 6.
One English writer visiting Étretat in the mid-1860s described tourists there as “patches of bright colour scattered on the beach [which] have an admirable effect.” See A. R. Waller, ed., Gossip from Paris during the Second Empire: Correspondence (1864–1869) of Anthony B. North Peat (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1903), p. 5.
Perhaps these abstract daubs of paint depict buoys or weights. Black-and-white postcards and sepia-toned photographs are little help to explain this flourish of a bright pigment contrasting with the otherwise grayed tones of the caloges and barrels.
Lionello Venturi, Impressionists and Symbolists, trans. Francis Steegmuller (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950), p. 64, mentions “the angry colour scheme,” which he believes Monet developed from his work at Bordighera the year before.
This is true for colors, as seen in the blue-red under the orange vertical stroke that may or may not indicate a person, and forms such as the two boats at the far left, which X-rays and infrared imaging indicate were repainted and are now in slightly different positions from previous compositional decisions, and whose original riggings are still visible to the unaided eye. See cat. 22. See also Francesco Arcangeli, Monet (Nuova Alfa, 1989), p. 56.
See, for example, Robert Herbert’s description of Boats on the Beach: “It was built up in stages, and much of the apparently passionate brushwork is a result of artful fakery. The water, for example, consists of large impasted strokes in swooping horizontals which were then painted over with smaller strokes of related tints that do not disturb its energetic form; the same is true of some of the evocative streaks in the foreground, where as many as five different tints were deposited atop a single underlying stroke. Such strokes give us the impression of spontaneity, but the colors we actually see do not literally coincide with them. They are, quite astonishingly, colored brushstrokes, representations of spontaneity.” Robert L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867–1886 (Yale University Press, 1994), p. 108.
“So many things are necessary in order to find again one’s effects with the seas low or high, calm or agitated, I think that I have not had so much difficulty or weather so variable.” Monet to Alice Hoschedé, Nov. 25, 1885, in Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 268, letter 629, translated in Steven Z. Levine, Monet, Narcissus, and Self-Reflection: The Modernist Myth of the Self (University of Chicago Press, 1994), p. 50.
See John House and David M. Hopkin, Impressionists by the Sea, exh. cat. (Royal Academy of Arts/Thames & Hudson/Abrams, 2007), p. 140. See also Technical Report, cat. 22, which confirms that, as House suggests, the boats were painted out when they went out to sea and were painted back in when the boats returned to the beach.
As Robert Herbert points out, the viewer is immediately drawn to the romanticism of this subject: “Our empathetic reaction comes not just from the images: the paint moves in slashing streaks and flowing runnels which suggest, without representing, various planks, boat gear, the marks made when boats are winched over the gravel, and the pathways formed by constant foot and wagon traffic,” Robert L. Herbert, Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society (Yale University Press, 1988), p. 302.
It is possible that Vincent van Gogh referred to Boats on the Beach at Étretat (cat. 22) in a letter to his brother Theo, dated October 13, 1888, reminding him that he “once had a very beautiful Claude Monet [at Boussod & Valadon, which Theo managed], of 4 colourful boats on a beach. Well, here it’s carriages, but the composition is of the same kind.” See Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker, eds., Vincent van Gogh: The Letters; The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition, vol. 4, Arles, 1888–1889 (Van Gogh Museum/Huygens Institute/Mercatorfonds, 2009), pp. 323–26, letter 703. Certainly the way the boats are lined up and the complementary colors of orange-reds and blue-yellows are similar to the general idea of Van Gogh’s painting of 1888 (Tarascon Stagecoach, 1888, The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, on long-term loan to the Princeton University Art Museum). According to Jennifer A. Thompson, “Van Gogh and Close-up Techniques in 19th-Century French Painting,” in Van Gogh Up Close, ed. Cornelia Homburg, exh. cat. (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa/Philadelphia Museum of Art/Yale University Press, 2012), p. 94, n. 15:“It is not clear which Monet painting van Gogh was referring to in his letter. The description of four boats on a beach would seem to refer to Wildenstein nos. 1024 or 1028. Neither is documented as being in Boussod and Valadon stock.”
A caloge is a retired fishing boat that has been converted into a storehouse by covering the hull with either tarred wooden planks or thatch.
For an overview of the materials and methods of Claude Monet’s paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago, see Kimberley Muir, Inge Fiedler, Don H. Johnson, and Robert G. Erdmann, “An In-depth Study of the Materials and Technique of Paintings by Claude Monet from the Art Institute of Chicago,” ICOM-CC 17th Triennial Meeting Preprints, Melbourne, Sept. 15–19, 2014 (forthcoming).
Using the toolbar at the bottom right, any two images of the painting may be selected for comparison by clicking the layers icon to the right of the slider bar. The slider bar may be moved to transition back and forth between the two chosen images. The jagged line icon brings up a list of available annotations, or colored lines that show the significant features visible in each image, which may be turned on or off in any combination. For example, the red annotation lines, associated with the natural-light image, trace some of the painting’s key compositional features. When overlaid onto a technical image (X-ray, raking light, UV, etc.), the red outlines help the viewer to better observe how features in the technical image relate to or diverge from the painting as seen with the naked eye. (When annotations are turned on, a legend appears in the upper right showing each color and its associated image type.) The circular arrow icon returns the image to the default settings (natural light, full-image view, natural-light [red] annotation on). The four-arrow icon toggles between the view of the image in the page and a full-screen view of the image. In the upper right corner, the vertical slider bar may be moved to zoom into or out of the image; different parts of the image can be accessed by clicking and dragging within the image itself. The icon in the upper left corner opens a small view of the full image, within which a red box indicates the portion of the overall image being viewed when zooming is enabled.
XRF analysis, in conjunction with microscopic examination of the painting surface, indicates that the paint mixture contains lead white, vermilion, emerald green, cobalt blue, and viridian. Other pigments may also be present. See Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Boats_47_95_XRF_Results,” Aug. 8, 2011, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Early photographs of the painting indicate that the signature was in place as early as 1911, see preface by V. Tschudi, Katalog der aus der sammlung des kgl. rates Marczell von Nemes – Budapest. Ausgestellten gemälde, exh. cat. (F. Bruckmann A.–G., 1911), cat. 34 (ill.).
Flax was confirmed by microscopic cross-sectional fiber identification. See Inge Fiedler, “1947_95_Monet_analytical report,” Oct. 21, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
See, for example, the chart of standard sizes available from Bourgeois Aîné in 1888, reproduced in David Bomford, Jo Kirby, John Leighton, and Ashok Roy, Art in the Making: Impressionism, exh. cat. (National Gallery, London/Yale University Press, 1990), p. 46, fig. 31. The original dimensions are based on a visual estimate of the original foldovers.
Thread count and weave information determined by Thread Count Automation Project software; see Don H. Johnson and Robert G. Erdmann, “Thread Count Report: Claude Monet Boats on the Beach at Etretat (W1024/1947.95),” Aug. 2011.
The more pronounced and irregular cusping on the right edge may correspond to primary cusping related to the commercial priming of the larger roll of canvas from which this canvas was cut (see Ground Application/texture).
See Alfred Jakstas, examination report, June 4, 1962, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
The original canvas back is now obscured by the lining canvas. The stamp was not visible when the painting was viewed with transmitted light.
Based on the observation of more well-preserved stamps on other Monet paintings in the collection, the text probably reads: H. Vieille E. Troisgros [S…] / 35 Rue de Laval 35 / Paris / Couleurs Fines / Toiles Panneaux.
The presence of a sizing layer is difficult to determine from cross sections due to previous conservation treatments, including wax-resin lining.
The fabric strips adhered to the tacking margins were removed in only a few places, so only a small section of each tacking edge could be observed.
See Inge Fiedler, “1947_95_Monet_analytical_report,” Oct. 21, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Traces of magnesium, aluminum, and silicon were detected in association with the calcium particles and are believed to be impurities often associated with the chalk. The ground composition was analyzed using SEM/EDX and XRF. For more detailed results and conditions used, see Inge Fiedler, “1947_95_Monet_analytical_report,” Oct. 21, 2013; and Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Boats_47_95_XRF_Results,” Aug. 8, 2011, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
A caloge is a retired fishing boat that has been converted into a storehouse by covering the hull with either tarred wooden planks or thatch.
As John House has pointed out, such changes could be a function of the constant movement of the boats or simply the result of aesthetic decisions (John House, Monet: Nature into Art [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988], 188).
In comparison with The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885; 1922.428 [W1025]) (cat. 23), the brushwork of this painting is looser and the forms are less clearly delineated: for example, the winch and the poles on the left side of the beach are less fully articulated than in the other work. Similarly, the windows on the stone building are less defined than in Departure. Here, the windows almost dissolve into the wall; they are only differentiated from the brushwork of the stones by the colors of the strokes (MAC 18). The vantage point for the two paintings seems essentially the same, although this work was painted on a slightly smaller canvas and the perspective seems slightly lower and closer; for example, the yellow boat on the right side seems larger compared with the same one in Departure. In Boats on the Beach, there is little in the painting of the water to suggest recession into space, with the result that not only the crashing waves, but all of the water, seems to be pushed forward toward the viewer.
The pigments were identified by the following methods: lead white, vermilion, viridian, emerald green, cobalt blue (PLM, XRF); red lake, ultramarine blue (PLM); cadmium yellow (XRF). Traces of iron detected with XRF in several areas could indicate the use ofiron oxide pigments but further analysis would be required to confirm this. While the presence of viridian was confirmed by PLM, the presence of chrome yellow cannot be excluded in other areas of the painting where chromium was detected with XRF. Paint scrapings taken in 1983 were reexamined by PLM in 2013. Analysis was carried out on selected areas and may not include all pigments present in the painting. For more detailed results and conditions used, see Inge Fiedler, “1947_95_Monet_PLM_results,” Oct. 17, 2013; Inge Fiedler, “1947_95_Monet_analytical_report,” Oct. 21, 2013; and Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Boats_47_95_XRF_Results,” Aug. 8, 2011, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Identifying the specific type of lake used only by its fluorescence under UV is difficult, as many factors, including the type of substrate, binders, varnishes, and admixtures with other pigments, can ultimately affect the perceived color of the fluorescence. Some types of madder and purpurin lake pigments have been reported to fluoresce orange, but other lakes, such as lacs, may fluoresce as well. The characteristics of red lakes, including their fluorescence under UV light, are discussed in Helmut Schweppe and John Winter, “Madder and Alizarin,” in Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, ed. Elisabeth West FitzHugh, vol. 3 (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1997), pp. 124–26. See also Ruth Johnston-Feller, Color Science in the Examination of Museum Objects: Nondestructive Procedures (Getty Conservation Institute, 2001), p. 207.
The binding medium was not analyzed. The estimation of an oil medium is based on visual examination, as well as on knowledge of Monet’s technique and published analyses of Monet paintings in other collections. See, for example, David Bomford, Jo Kirby, John Leighton, and Ashok Roy, Art in the Making: Impressionism, exh. cat. (National Gallery, London/Yale University Press, 1990), pp. 72-75.
Louis Pomerantz, examination report, July 11, 1957, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Alfred Jakstas, treatment report, July 26, 1962, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Kirk Vuillemot, “Monet Frame Descriptions Final,” Dec. 3, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
According to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.
According to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.
See August L. Mayer, Katalog der aus der Sammlung des Kgl. Rates Marczell von Nemes, Budapest, ausgestellten Gemälde, with a preface by V. Tschudi, exh. cat. (F. Bruckmann, 1911), cat. 34 (ill.).
See Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, Catalogue des tableaux modernes, collection de M. Marczell de Nemes, sale cat. (Galerie Manzi-Joyant, June 18, 1913), lot 113 (ill.), as Plage. According to the Durand-Ruel Archives, “Purchased by Durand-Ruel on 18 June 1913 at the Marczell de Nemes Sale, lot no. 113, for an unnamed person, for 9 500 F,” from an annotated sales catalogue. The Durand-Ruel Archives also has a letter from Durand-Ruel, Paris, to Durand-Ruel, New York, dated June 24, 1913, which says, “Nous avons acheté nous-mêmes plusieurs tableaux importants, mais c’était sur des ordres et nous n’aurions certainement pas payé des prix pareils pour de tels tableaux,” and the archives further state that “Durand-Ruel purchased 11 paintings at this sale, the names of the buyers are not recorded in our books”; see Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. See also “Liste des prix et noms des acquéreurs de la deuxième vacation de la collection Marczell de Nemes,” Le Gil Blas, June 19, 1913, p. 2, which states that the asking price was 12,000 francs and that the painting was sold to M. Durand-Ruel for 9,500 francs.
According to Daniel Catton Rich, Catalogue of the Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection of Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings (Lakeside, 1938), pp. vi; 76, cat. 77; pl. 45.
A purchase receipt on John Levy Galleries letterhead dated November 15, 1922, mentions the sale of this painting by John Levy Galleries for $2,295 as La Plage à Etretat to Mr. C. H. Worcester. Curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
A purchase receipt on John Levy Galleries letterhead dated November 15, 1922, mentions the sale of this painting by John Levy Galleries for $2,295 as La Plage à Etretat to Mr. C. H. Worcester; curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. This painting was on loan from Charles H. Worcester to the Art Institute of Chicago, intermittently, by 1923, according to Museum Registration department artists sheets on file in Museum Registration, Art Institute of Chicago.
The painting stayed in the Worcesters’ home until 1956, when Mr. Worcester died; see receipt of object 14829, on file in Museum Registration, Art Institute of Chicago. Mrs. Mary F. S. Worcester died in 1954.
According to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.
According to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.
According to receipt of object 1071/ receipt no. 1130, on file in Museum Registration, Art Institute of Chicago; shipping out order 2864, on file in Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago; and Daniel Catton Rich, Catalogue of the Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection of Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings (Lakeside, 1938), pp. vi; 76, cat. 77; pl. 45. See also M. B. W., “Summer Loan Exhibitions,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 17, 6 (Sept. 1923), pp. 56–58, where there is a general reference to the summer loan of works from the Worcester collection.
The exhibition catalogue appeared as Art Institute of Chicago, “Catalogue,” Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 51, 2 (Apr. 1, 1957), pp. 33–34. Under “Exhibitions” in the same issue, the exhibition dates were listed as April 1–30 (p. 36); however, the show was extended until June 15. See Edith Weigle, “The Wonderful World of Art,” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 26, 1957, p. E2, for an exhibition review and a reference to the extension of the length of the show. The April 1957 issue of the Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly was largely dedicated to the Monet works in the Art Institute’s collection. The exhibition marked the first time the Art Institute’s thirty Monet paintings were shown together in the museum.
According to shipping out order C1189; on file in Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago; and receipt of object 29085, on file in Museum Registration, Art Institute of Chicago, this work was on loan to Neison Harris, Highland Park, Ill., in exchange for his loan of Toulouse-Lautrec’s The Laundress to Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec, Oct. 4–Dec. 2, 1979.
According to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.
According to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 386, cat. 1024 (ill.); 388.
Reprinted as Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Art Institute of Chicago, 1968), p. 320.
Originally published as Yvon Taillandier, Monet (Flammarion, 1962). Republished in Yvon Taillandier, Monet, rev. ed. (Crown, 1987), p. 33, n. 6.
Originally published as A. M. Hammacher and Renilde Hammacher, Van Gogh: Een documentaire biografie (Meulenhoff/Landshoff, 1982).
Simultaneously published as Cornelia Homburg, “Vincent van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: Colleagues, Competitors, Friends,” in Van Gogh’s Imaginary Museum: Exploring the Artist’s Inner World, ed. Chris Stolwijk, Sjraar van Heugten, Leo Jansen, and Andreas Blühm, exh. cat. (Van Gogh Museum/Abrams, 2003), p. 114.
Simultaneously published as Chris Stolwijk, Sjraar van Heugten, Leo Jansen, and Andreas Blühm, eds., Van Gogh’s Imaginary Museum: Exploring the Artist’s Inner World, exh. cat. (Van Gogh Museum/Abrams, 2003), p. 264, pl. 129.
The latter was republished as Gloria Groom and Douglas Druick, with the assistance of Dorota Chudzicka and Jill Shaw, The Age of French Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago, rev. and expanded ed. (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2010; repr. 2013), pp. 17; 119, cat. 58 (ill.).
Based on the observation of more well-preserved stamps on other Monet paintings in the collection, the text probably reads: H. Vieille E. Troisgros [S…] / 35 Rue de Laval 35 / Paris / Couleurs Fines / Toiles Panneaux.
See Don H. Johnson, C. Richard Johnson, Jr., Andrew G. Klein, William A. Sethares, H. Lee, and Ella Hendriks, “A Thread Counting Algorithm for Art Forensics,” 2009 IEEE Thirteenth Digital Signal Processing and Fifth IEEE Signal Processing Education Workshop (IEEE, 2009), pp. 679–84; doi:10.1109/DSP.2009.4786009.
See Damon M. Conover, John K. Delaney, Paola Ricciardi, and Murray H. Loew, “Towards Automatic Registration of Technical Images of Works of Art,” in Computer Vision and Image Analysis of Art II, ed. David G. Stork, James Coddington, and Anna Bentkowska-Kafel, Proc. SPIE 7869 (SPIE/IS&T, 2011), doi:10.1117/12.872634.
For further discussion, see Kimberley Muir, Inge Fiedler, Don H. Johnson, and Robert Erdmann, “Thread Count, Weave, and Ground Analysis of Claude Monet’s Vieille & Troisgros/Troisgros Frères canvases in the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Painting Techniques: History, Materials and Studio Practice (Rijksmuseum, forthcoming). The numbers preceded by a W refer to the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vols. 1–4 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996).
For an overview of the materials and methods of Claude Monet’s paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago, see Kimberley Muir, Inge Fiedler, Don H. Johnson, and Robert G. Erdmann, “An In-depth Study of the Materials and Technique of Paintings by Claude Monet from the Art Institute of Chicago,” ICOM-CC 17th Triennial Meeting Preprints, Melbourne, Sept. 15–19, 2014 (forthcoming).
Using the toolbar at the bottom right, any two images of the painting may be selected for comparison by clicking the layers icon to the right of the slider bar. The slider bar may be moved to transition back and forth between the two chosen images. The jagged line icon brings up a list of available annotations, or colored lines that show the significant features visible in each image, which may be turned on or off in any combination. For example, the red annotation lines, associated with the natural-light image, trace some of the painting’s key compositional features. When overlaid onto a technical image (X-ray, raking light, UV, etc.), the red outlines help the viewer to better observe how features in the technical image relate to or diverge from the painting as seen with the naked eye. (When annotations are turned on, a legend appears in the upper right showing each color and its associated image type.) The circular arrow icon returns the image to the default settings (natural light, full-image view, natural-light [red] annotation on). The four-arrow icon toggles between the view of the image in the page and a full-screen view of the image. In the upper right corner, the vertical slider bar may be moved to zoom into or out of the image; different parts of the image can be accessed by clicking and dragging within the image itself. The icon in the upper left corner opens a small view of the full image, within which a red box indicates the portion of the overall image being viewed when zooming is enabled.
XRF analysis, in conjunction with microscopic examination of the painting surface, indicates that the paint mixtures for both the signature and the date contain lead white, vermilion, and red lake. See Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Depart_22_428_XRF_Results,” Nov. 17, 2011, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago. PLM analysis of a scraping from the t found vermilion, red lake, viridian, emerald green, ultramarine blue, and possibly cobalt blue. The scraping, taken in 1983, was reexamined by PLM in 2013. See Inge Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_PLM_results,” Oct. 17, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Flax was confirmed by microscopic cross-sectional fiber identification. See Inge Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_analytical_report,” Oct. 21, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
See, for example, the chart of standard sizes available from Bourgeois Aîné in 1888, reproduced in David Bomford, Jo Kirby, John Leighton, and Ashok Roy, Art in the Making: Impressionism, exh. cat. (National Gallery, London/Yale University Press, 1990), p. 46, fig. 31. The original dimensions of the painting were based on a visual estimate of the original foldovers. Small discrepancies between the measured dimensions and standard sizes may be a result of this approximation, as well as other factors such as restretching the painting on a new stretcher after lining.
Thread count and weave information determined by Thread Count Automation Project software; see Don H. Johnson and Robert G. Erdmann, “Thread Count Report: Claude Monet, The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (W1025/1922.428),” Aug. 2011.
This suggests that the canvases for the three paintings were cut from the same bolt of fabric. See Don H. Johnson, “Weave Match Report: Claude Monet W1012, W1025, W1095,” Apr. 2011. For further discussion, see Kimberley Muir, Inge Fiedler, Don H. Johnson, and Robert Erdmann, “Thread Count, Weave, and Ground Analysis of Claude Monet’s Vieille & Troisgros/Troisgros Frères canvases in the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Painting Techniques: History, Materials and Studio Practice (Rijksmuseum, forthcoming). The numbers preceded by a W refer to the Monet catalogue raisonné; see Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vols. 1–4 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996).
See Alfred Jakstas, examination report, Apr. 3, 1962, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
The original canvas back is now obscured by the lining canvas.
This is probably the stamp of Vieille & Troisgros: H Vieille E Troisgros / 35 Rue de Laval 35 / Paris / Couleurs Fines / Toiles Panneaux
The presence of a sizing layer is difficult to determine from cross sections due to previous conservation treatments, including wax-resin lining.
See Inge Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_analytical_report,” Oct. 21, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Traces of magnesium, aluminum, and silicon were detected in association with the calcium particles and are believed to be impurities often associated with the chalk. The ground composition was analyzed using SEM/EDX, PLM, and XRF. The ground scraping taken in 1983 was reexamined in 2013 by PLM. For more detailed results and conditions used, see Inge Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_analytical_report,” Oct. 21, 2013; and Inge Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_PLM_results,” Oct. 17, 2013; and Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Depart_22_428_XRF_Results,” Nov. 17, 2011, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
A small amount of angular, brownish-black particles, which could be charcoal, was observed in several of the paint sample scrapings. See Inge Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_PLM_report,” Oct. 17, 2013. It is possible that these particles are associated with limited underdrawing and were incorporated into the paint when they were painted over. Where charcoal underdrawing was detected in other Monet paintings, the material present was minimal—usually not detectable with infrared reflectography (IRR)—and similar particles were also observed in the paint samples.
A caloge is a retired fishing boat that has been converted into a storehouse by covering the hull with either tarred wooden planks or thatch.
Interestingly, a similar radio-opaque area appears in the same location on the related Art Institute painting Boats on the Beach at Étretat (1885; 1947.95 [W1024]) (cat. 22). In that painting, however, the artist seems to have retained the suggestion of a second window on the upper floor. In both paintings, the “window” seems like an afterthought, but in Departure of the Boats it was ultimately obscured from view, whereas in Boats on the Beach it was retained. Departure of the Boats was painted on a slightly larger canvas than that of Boats on the Beach at Étretat. Compared with Boats on the Beach at Étretat, the forms in this painting are more detailed and defined. This can be seen, for example, if one compares the lower windows of the stone building or the winches, just to the left, in each painting.
The pigments were identified by the following methods: lead white, cadmium yellow, chrome yellow, vermilion, viridian, emerald green, cobalt blue (XRF, PLM); ultramarine blue, red lake (PLM). Traces of fine black particles were observed by PLM in some samples but it is unclear whether these are pigment particles. XRF analysis detected traces of iron in some dark reddish-brown areas of the painting which could indicate the presence of iron oxide pigments; however, further analysis would be required to confirm this. Paint scrapings taken in 1979 were reexamined by PLM in 2013. Analysis was carried out on selected areas and may not include all pigments present in the painting. For more detailed results and conditions used, see Inge Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_analytical_report,” Oct. 21, 2013; Fiedler, “1922_428_Monet_PLM_report,” Oct. 17, 2013; and Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Depart_22_428_XRF_Results,” Nov. 17, 2011, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Identifying the specific type of lake used only by its fluorescence under UV is difficult, as many factors, including the type of substrate, binders, varnishes, and admixtures with other pigments, can ultimately affect the perceived color of the fluorescence. Some types of madder and purpurin lake pigments have been reported to fluoresce orange, but other lakes, such as lacs, may fluoresce as well. The characteristics of red lakes, including their fluorescence under UV, are discussed in Helmut Schweppe and John Winter, “Madder and Alizarin,” in Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, ed. Elisabeth West FitzHugh, vol. 3 (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1997), pp. 124–26. See also Ruth Johnston-Feller, Color Science in the Examination of Museum Objects: Nondestructive Procedures (Getty Conservation Institute, 2001), p. 207.
The binding medium was not analyzed. The estimation of an oil medium is based on visual examination, as well as on knowledge of Monet’s technique and published analyses of Monet paintings in other collections. See, for example, David Bomford, Jo Kirby, John Leighton, and Ashok Roy, Art in the Making: Impressionism, exh. cat. (National Gallery, London/Yale University Press, 1990), pp. 72-75.
“[O]n list—Pictures from The Potter Palmer Collection cleaned and varnished by Hammond Smith April 20, 1922,” interdepartmental correspondence, n.d., on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Alfred Jakstas, treatment report, Apr. 27, 1968, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Faye Wrubel, treatment report, Aug. 4, 2006, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Kelly Keegan, treatment report, Jan. 2, 2007, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Kirk Vuillemot, “Monet Frame Descriptions Final,” Dec. 3, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
Kirk Vuillemot, “Monet Frame Descriptions Final,” Dec. 3, 2013, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
The transaction is recorded in the Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book for 1891–1901 (no. 2548, as Caloges d’Etretat): “Purchased by DR Paris from Monet on 21 December 1892, for 6 000 F; Stock no. 2548,” as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
The transaction is recorded in the Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book for 1891–1901 (no. 2548, as Caloges d’Etretat): “Sold to Potter Palmer on 21 December 1892 for 6 000 F,” as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
The transaction is recorded in the Durand-Ruel, New York, deposit book for 1894–1925 (no. 7535, as Caloges d’Etretat, 1885): “Deposited at DR New York by Mrs Potter Palmer on 17 March 1909, returned on 9 May 1911 (as Caloges d’Etretat, 1885)/Deposit NY no. 7535; photo no. A 1094,” as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
The exhibition catalogue lists the dates as June 1–November 1, 1933, but newspaper articles confirm the exhibition opened on May 23. See India Moffett, “Art Show of 1,500 World Famous Treasures Is Opened at Institute,” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 23, 1933, p. 17; and Virginia Gardner, “Record Throng of 1,367,000 Views Art Show,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Oct. 29, 1933, p. 7.
The exhibition catalogue lists the dates as June 1–November 1, 1934, but newspaper articles confirm the exhibition closed on October 31. See “Fair Art Exhibition Closes Forever at 5:30 This Afternoon,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Oct. 31, 1934, p. 2; and “Shippers Start Dismantling Art Exhibition Today,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Nov. 1, 1934, p. 3.
The exhibition catalogue is printed in Art Institute of Chicago, “Catalogue,” Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 51, 2 (Apr. 1, 1957), pp. 33–34. Under “Exhibitions,” in the same issue the exhibition dates were listed as April 1–30, p. 36; however, the show was extended until June 15. See Edith Weigle, “The Wonderful World of Art,” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 26, 1957, p. E2, for an exhibition review and reference to the extension of the length of the show. The April 1957 issue of the The Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly was largely dedicated to the Monet works in the Art Institute’s collection. The exhibition marked the first time the Art Institute’s thirty works by Monet paintings were shown together in the museum.
According to shipping out order C3430, on file in Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago; and receipt of object 32899, on file in Museum Registration, Art Institute of Chicago, this work was on loan to Neison Harris, Highland Park, Ill., as a replacement for his loan to Los Angeles County Museum of Art, A Day in the Country: Impressionism and the French Landscape, June 28–Sept. 16, 1984; Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 23, 1984–Jan. 6, 1985; Paris, Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, as L’impressionnisme et le paysage français, Feb. 4–Apr. 22, 1985.
Reprinted in Art Institute of Chicago, Handbook of Sculpture, Architecture, and Paintings, pt. 2, Paintings (Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), p. 68, cat. 832.
This article appears in the microfilm compilation, Charles Fabens Kelley, The Chicago Art Institute Collections and Exhibitions (Art Institute of Chicago, 1971), p. 182 (ill.).
Reprinted in Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Art Institute of Chicago, 1968), p. 320.
The latter was republished as Gloria Groom and Douglas Druick, with the assistance of Dorota Chudzicka and Jill Shaw, The Age of French Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2010; repr. 2013), p. 119.
See Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
See Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 5, 2013, curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.
This is probably the stamp of Vieille & Troisgros: H Vieille E Troisgros / 35 Rue de Laval 35 / Paris / Couleurs Fines / Toiles Panneaux.
See Don H. Johnson, C. Richard Johnson, Jr., Andrew G. Klein, William A. Sethares, H. Lee, and Ella Hendriks, “A Thread Counting Algorithm for Art Forensics,” 2009 IEEE Thirteenth Digital Signal Processing and Fifth IEEE Signal Processing Education Workshop (IEEE, 2009), pp. 679–84; doi:10.1109/DSP.2009.4786009.
See Damon M. Conover, John K. Delaney, Paola Ricciardi, and Murray H. Loew, “Towards Automatic Registration of Technical Images of Works of Art,” in Computer Vision and Image Analysis of Art II, ed. David G. Stork, James Coddington, and Anna Bentkowska-Kafel, Proc. SPIE 7869 (SPIE/IS&T, 2011), doi:10.1117/12.872634.

How to Cite

Entry by Gloria Groom; Technical Report by Kimberley Muir and Kirk Vuillemot, “Cats. 22–23 Étretat, 1885,” in Monet Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, ed. Gloria Groom and Jill Shaw, rev. ed. (2014; repr., Art Institute of Chicago, 2026), https://doi.org/10.53269/9780865592698/19.

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Appendix

Room with a View: Hôtel Blanquet

“My Caloges”

Monet’s Genre Painting

Method and Meaning

Boats on the Beach at Étretat, 1885 (Cat. 22)

Technical Report

Technical Summary

Multilayer Interactive Image Viewer

Signature

Structure and Technique

Support

Preparatory Layers

Compositional Planning/Underdrawing/Painted Sketch

Paint Layer

Surface Finish

Conservation History

Condition Summary

Frame

Provenance

Exhibition History

Selected References

Other Documentation

Documentation from the John Levy Galleries Archives

Documentation from the Bernheim-Jeune Archives

Labels and Inscriptions

Undated

Pre-1980

Post-1980

Examination and Analysis Techniques

X-radiography

Infrared Reflectography

Transmitted Infrared

Visible Light

Ultraviolet

High-Resolution Visible Light (and Ultraviolet)

Microscopy and Photomicrographs

X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF)

Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM)

Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX)

Automated Thread Counting

Image Registration Software

Image Inventory

Fig. 22.40

The Departure of the Boats, Étretat, 1885 (Cat. 23)

Technical Report

Technical Summary

Multilayer Interactive Image Viewer

Signature

Structure and Technique

Support

Preparatory Layers

Compositional Planning/Underdrawing/Painted Sketch

Paint Layer

Surface Finish

Conservation History

Condition Summary

Frame

Provenance

Exhibition History

Selected References

Other Documentation

Documentation from the Durand-Ruel Archives

Labels and Inscriptions

Undated

Pre-1980

Post-1980

Examination and Analysis Techniques

X-radiography

Infrared Reflectography

Transmitted Infrared

Visible Light

Ultraviolet

High-Resolution Visible Light (and Ultraviolet)

Microscopy and Photomicrographs

X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF)

Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM)

Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDX)