Cat. 24  Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île, 1886

Monet Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago

Top section shows a pale blue-gray sky with soft gray clouds above a thin light-blue horizon. The middle area is filled by large rock formations in brown, gray, and dark green, creating narrow passages of blue-green water; a broad central mass sits between darker cliffs on the left and right. The foreground is rippling water covering the lower half, with deep green, blue, and white tones that brighten toward the center.

Cat. 24

Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île^[1]
1886
Oil on canvas; 66 × 81.8 cm (26 × 32 3/16 in.)
Signed and dated: Claude Monet 86 (lower right, in light orange-brown paint)
The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey B. Borland, 1964.210

Technical Report
Provenance
Exhibition History
Selected References
Other Documentation

An Isolated Destination

After spending the spring of 1886 working in Holland and the summer painting at home in Giverny, Claude Monet experienced a very different environment that fall on the remote island of Belle-Île off the coast of Brittany. His decision to travel to this rugged terrain may have been influenced by the novelist Octave Mirbeau, who had a country house on the nearby island of Noirmoutier; that year Monet had joined Mirbeau’s literary group in Paris, the Bons Cosaques (Jolly Cossacks). Fellow member and friend Pierre-Auguste Renoir had recently painted Breton landscapes, which may also have played a role in the choice.^[2] That same year Monet’s friend and patron Georges Charpentier published an account by the writer Gustave Flaubert of an 1847 trip to Brittany, which contained impressions of Belle-Île that could have piqued Monet’s interest in that specific destination.^[3]1

Belle-Île was famous for its fantastic grottoes, cliffs, and aiguilles (or needles; pointed triangular rock formations also referred to as pyramids). Sparsely dotted with hamlets, Belle-Île had little tourist trade, which likely increased its appeal for Monet. In August the artist was making plans for a trip to Belle-Île, and with a stipend of 2,200 francs from his dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, he left a month later.^[4] Monet intended to stay two weeks, but his campaign, as usual, became more complicated, and only at the end of November did he return, via a visit to Mirbeau in Noirmoutier, with some forty canvases for reworking at home.^[5]2

Terrible Belle-Île

On September 12 Monet arrived at the town of Le Palais, a fishing port located on the eastern side of the island, and checked into the Hôtel de France.^[6] The following day Monet recounts to his companion, Alice Hoschedé, that he explored the island and saw beautiful things; however, he complained that Le Palais was “a real town,” too far from these locations that he had just discovered.^[7] Within days of his arrival on Belle-Île, Monet moved to Kervilahouen, a village of only ten houses on the other side of the island that was closer to the picturesque inlets scattered along the western side of the island, such as Port-Goulphar, an inlet studded with breathtaking rock formations (fig. 24.1).^[8] Monet rented a room in a modest house for four francs a day, which included meals of mostly eggs, fish, and lobster.^[9] As at Étretat the previous year, he roamed the cliffs and promontories, seeking out the most dramatic views. Instead of the beach with its evidence of human activity, however, at Belle-Île Monet focused on the ocean-ravaged rocks at Port-Goulphar, Port-Coton, and Port-Domois and the smaller outlying formations. Monet would treat these aspects of the Belle-Île coast in paintings that can be organized thematically into several subgroups, including ones depicting the Port-Coton pyramids (e.g., fig. 24.2 [W1084]), and the Lion Rock (e.g., fig. 24.3 [W1090]).^[10]3

At the top, pale blue ocean stretches to a hazy horizon. Across the center, a wide peninsula shows tan and green fields with scattered clusters of small white buildings and a tall white-and-red tower on the left. Along the bottom, large brown and gray cliffs meet dark blue water, where many small rocky islets sit amid patches of white surf; the cliffs appear much larger than the buildings above them. — Contemporary aerial photograph of Belle-Ile

Black background with four orange labels in French and thin orange lines. From left to right near the top: “Village de Kervilahouen,” “Aiguilles de Port-Coton,” “Donnos,” and “Port Goulphar.” Each label has a diagonal line slanting down toward the lower right, with the center label’s line being the longest. No other shapes or details are discernible. — Key

Fig. 24.1

Contemporary aerial view of Belle-Île. Photograph by Philippe Ulliac.

At the top, a pale gray sky meets a distant blue‑gray horizon. Across the middle and foreground, choppy blue and green water fills the scene with scattered white foam. Near the left center, a very tall, dark gray rock tower is the largest form, with several smaller jagged rocks to its right and around it. White patches of spray cluster at the bases of the rocks, which show dark gray with touches of brown and red, and a few darker shapes sit near the bottom edge. — Fig. 24.2

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). *Pyramids at Port-Coton, Rough Sea*, 1886. Oil on canvas; 65 × 81 cm (25 5/8 × 31 7/8 in.). Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. Scala/Art Resource, NY.

Cloudy gray-blue sky spans the top, meeting a distant horizon over green water. Below the horizon, choppy sea with white foam fills the center and right, scattered with dark brown and reddish rocks of different sizes. A large dark cliff covers the left side and juts toward the middle, with a taller rounded rock standing in the water near center-right. In the lower area, waves break around smaller rocks and the cliff base, showing patches of teal and white between them. — Fig. 24.3

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). *Rocher du Lion, Rochers à Belle-Île* (*Lion Rock, Rocks at Belle-Île)*, 1886. Oil on canvas; 65.7 × 81.8 cm (25 7/8 × 32 3/16 in.). Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, 1961.42.

The decision to travel to Belle-Île was a radical departure for the artist, who when not working at home in Giverny stayed in relative comfort, as at the beachfront hotel at Étretat. Arguably the most physically challenging destination to date for Monet, the island was a desolate location. Monet struggled particularly with the tumultuous weather, which required him to hire a porter—the former lobsterman Hippolyte Guillaume, known as Poly (fig. 24.4).^[11] And yet the painterly potential of this unspoiled coastline fascinated the artist. In his letters to his dealers, friends, and Alice, he refers to Belle-Île as “sinister, diabolical, but superb”^[12] and “very beautiful but very savage;”^[13] admitting to his dealer “I am enthusiastic for this sinister land and precisely because it takes me out of what I am in the habit of doing.”^[14]
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At the top, a pale beige‑gray background surrounds a brown hat centered over an adult’s head. The person has medium-light skin with reddish cheeks, dark brown hair, and a full beard, and looks slightly to the right. Below, a dark blue scarf wraps the neck and a loose blue‑gray sweater with darker blue and brown patches covers the shoulders and torso; the figure is shown from the chest up and fills most of the frame, with no other subjects present. — Fig. 24.4

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). *Portrait of Poly*, 1886. Oil on canvas; 74 × 53 cm (29 1/8 × 20 7/8 in.). Musée Marmottan, Paris. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY.

The Trio of Rocks at Port-Goulphar

The Art Institute’s painting is one of three versions anchored by the massive rock formations making up the Port-Goulphar (see fig. 24.5 [W1093] and fig. 24.6 [W1094]).^[15] In mid-October the island endured a weeklong tempest, documented by Monet in his correspondence. It is probable that he began the Port-Goulphar trio early in the month, prior to the storm. Depicting seemingly rare moments of reasonably calm seas, they show a range of weather conditions—sunny in Coming into the Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (fig. 24.5), partly cloudy in Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (fig. 24.6) and overcast in the Chicago picture.^[16] Of these three canvases, the Art Institute work is the only one that crops out the two flanking rocks, which are present at the bottom of the other two compositions. In a modern photograph that shows the approximate view that Monet chose for the Art Institute’s version (fig. 24.7), the cliffs that run along the outer edge of the Port-Domois are contiguous with the horizon. In another modern view of the inlet (fig. 24.8), comparable to the view seen in Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île, the signal station at Talut at the upper left is visible in the distance.^[17] Both Coming into the Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île and Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île are painted from spots similar to those seen in the modern photographs, but employ a lower vantage point, so that part of the cliffs at the horizon line on the right are obscured from sight. From the higher elevation of Rocks at Port-Goulphar, the modern photographs show that the signal station would have been visible at the upper left, but here it has been omitted, evidence of Monet’s “editing” for pictorial reasons.^[18] Further, from this elevated view, the border of cliffs and the horizon are exactly aligned with each other. The rocks in the middle ground seem closer to us yet the cliffs at the edge of Port-Domois are still visible in the background. The outer edge of the Port-Domois provides a decorative border on the horizon that counter balances the bulky masses of these rocks in the middle ground.5

Figs. 24.5–24.8

Top area shows a pale blue sky with soft pink‑white clouds near a high horizon. Below, a broad inlet of blue and green water spans the center, with light blue streaks across the surface. Large jagged rock formations in dark gray, brown, and green frame the scene on the left and right, with the closest rocks filling the lower corners and appearing largest. In the background, a rounded central rock and flanking cliffs narrow toward a thin strip of open sea between them. — Fig. 24.5

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). *Coming into the Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île*, 1886. Oil on canvas; 65 × 81 cm (25 5/8 × 31 7/8 in.). Sold, Sotheby’s, New York, *Impressionist and Modern Art, Part I,* Nov. 16, 1998, lot 54.

At the top, a blue‑gray sky with patches of pale pink and lavender clouds spans the scene. Across the middle, several large sea stacks in dark purple, brown, and mossy green rise from teal water, leaving narrow gaps of ocean between them. In the foreground, rippled green and blue water fills most of the lower half, bordered by tall rocky walls on the left and right edges that curve inward toward the center. — Fig. 24.6

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). *Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île*, 1887. Oil on canvas; 81 × 65 cm (31 7/8 × 25 5/8 in.). Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 8356. Photograph: AGNSW.

At the top, a pale blue sky meets a distant band of deep blue ocean. In the middle, large rocky cliffs with patches of green and brown vegetation rise from the water, with a central broad rock formation closely flanked by similar cliffs on the left and right, forming a narrow channel near the center-left. At the bottom, dark blue water surrounds the rock bases, with a few small jagged rocks along the edges. — Fig. 24.7

View of Port-Goulphar, showing the composition Monet chose for the Art Institute’s version. Reproduced from Denise Delouche, *Monet à Belle-Île* (Palantines, 2006), p. 66.

At the top, a flat headland runs across the horizon, with a small white building and red lighthouse at the far left against a pale sky. Below, deep blue water fills a narrow inlet, surrounded by tall, rugged cliffs and several large rock stacks covered in tan-brown vegetation. In the foreground, dark rocky edges frame the water on both sides, with shadowed bases near the shoreline. The cliffs and rock stacks are massive, dwarfing the distant lighthouse. — Fig. 24.8

Photograph of Port-Goulphar showing the composition used for the New South Wales version, with the Sémaphore du Talut in the background at left. Reproduced from Denise Delouche, *Monet à Belle-Île* (Palantines, 2006), p. 70.

The Chicago painting’s canvas bears the stamp of the color merchant Vieille & Troisgros^[19] (fig. 24.9) and was found to have a warp-thread match with paintings from his previous Normandy campaign at Étretat (cat. 21 and cat. 23) indicating that Rocks at Port-Goulphar also came from the same bolt of raw canvas. Monet began his work at Belle-Île with four canvases; by October 11 he was repainting the unsuccessful canvases (“mauvaises toiles”) and waiting on “fresh” canvases that he had ordered from Troisgros Frères to be shipped to him.^[20] This new batch presumably would have borne the new Troisgros Frères canvas stamp rather than the now out-of-date Vieille & Troisgros stamp.^[21]
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At the top, a faint curved line of dark gray text forms the upper half of an oval, with most letters unclear. In the center, the darker word “PARIS” appears in small capitals. Below, two curved lines of lighter text partly read “COULEURS ET” and “TOILES PAN…,” with the remaining letters not legible. The oval outline and text occupy most of a white background, with the central word smaller than the surrounding curved lines. — Fig. 24.9

Tracing of a supplier’s stamp from the back of the original canvas of Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

The Belle-Île group was likely conceived in Monet’s usual manner: finding, framing, and sketching in front of his motif, reworking the same canvas during the same or a later session, and making final assessments and retouches in his studio. For the Art Institute’s composition, on the other hand, Monet seems to have abbreviated his usual working process, painting more directly with minimal reworking. See, for example, the early delineation of the rocks, whose borders of exposed ground can be detected with the unaided eye (fig. 24.10). These masses, as well as the sky and water zones, were then filled in with a variety of brushstrokes worked wet-on-wet and in many areas only thinly applied (fig. 24.11). The horizon—interrupted by the top of the line of cliffs, which are delineated by a dark purple paint—was also asserted from the beginning (fig. 24.12). In comparison to the vertical Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (fig. 24.6), dated 1887, whose elaborately variegated brushwork for the rocks and water suggests a greater degree of reworking, the changes to Rocks at Port-Goulphar seem minimal. The reddish-brown base of the cliff at the far left foreground has been extended slightly into the water. In addition, a few of the brighter strokes that were painted over already dried paint, notably the blue strokes under the signature (fig. 24.13), speak to additional painting session, possibly upon his return to his Giverny studio.^[22]
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Figs. 24.10–24.13

At the top, pale blue and white sky stretches over a long, dark ridge that spans the width. Below, a deep ravine in dark greens and blues drops between rocky sides, with a large reddish-brown slope on the right and a smaller greenish edge on the left. Along the bottom, a thin band of bright blue runs between the rocks. — Fig. 24.10

Detail of Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing the line of rocks in the background and the visible ground. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top section shows a cloudy sky in dark gold and brown with a thin strip of pale light near the horizon. Across the middle, two large dark cliff-like formations on the left and right create a narrow gap toward the center, with a small sliver of deep blue water visible between them. The bottom half is covered by rippling water patterned with gold, red, and black reflections. Single scene with the cliffs dominating the sides and the water stretching toward the front. — Fig. 24.11

Detail of Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing areas of thinly applied paint around the rock formations and in the water. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

At the top, a pale blue sky with soft gray and light purple clouds stretches across. In the middle, a wide band of light blue water runs horizontally near the horizon. In the foreground, sloping land sits on the left in greens and browns, while a larger dark mound or cliff in deep blue and dark green rises on the right, creating a narrow opening toward the water. Colors are mostly blue, green, gray, and brown. — Fig. 24.12

Detail of Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing horizon line, laid in early, ground visible. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top area shows swirls of blue, teal, and white with small patches of green and purple. Across the middle from left to right, red-brown cursive text reads “Claude Monet” over the blue background. Along the bottom edge runs a narrow beige strip, with pale blue and white paint just above it. — Fig. 24.13

Detail of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing strokes of blue under the signature that were added over already dried paint in the water. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Success of the “Series”

These paintings of monumental and isolated rocks surrounded by water but devoid of human, animal, and even plant life were a personal, emotional response to the motif, an approach Monet would further develop in his series paintings of the 1890s (see cats. 27–32). In the context of Monet’s struggle with the elements while out on the cliffs of Belle-Île, his repeated use of the term “terrible” takes on a connotation different than the “terrible” sublime in nature sought by artists in the late eighteenth century. For Monet it indicated a powerful psychic force, both awesome and exhausting.^[23] Mirbeau, who came to visit Monet while he was working at Port-Goulphar, noted in a letter to Rodin that “[the Belle-Île paintings] will be a new aspect of his talent: a terrible and formidable Monet, unknown until now. But his works will please the common public less than ever.”^[24] On the contrary the art dealers Durand-Ruel, Theo van Gogh (representing Boussod & Valadon) and Georges Petit all believed the opposite and clamored to acquire the paintings as soon as Monet would allow them to leave his studio in 1887. In the spring of 1887, Monet exhibited at Georges Petit’s 6e Exposition internationale de peinture et de sculpture. Out of the twelve works by Monet listed in the catalogue, ten were from the Belle-Île campaign (including the portrait of his porter, Poly [fig. 24.4]).^[25] The Art Institute’s painting was not among those exhibited in 1887, but its closest cognate, Coming into the Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (fig. 24.5), was both shown and purchased in 1887 by Petit and was no doubt the image the journalist Gustave Geffroy had in mind when he described the rocks as “Pachyderms with thick crusts.”^[26]8

The two months at Belle-Île were physically and artistically arduous. And even now, as Denise Delouche has made clear in her comparison of Monet’s painting to the topography of Belle-Île, the cliffs and summits remain inaccessible except by foot and, even then, dangerous.^[27] Comparing his works on the coastal cliffs of Antibes, a four-month campaign he would begin in January 1888, Monet noted the differences “After Belle-Île the terrible, it will be the tender: here there is only blue, pink, and gold, but what difficulty, good God!”^[28]

Gloria Groom
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Technical Summary

Claude Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île was painted on a pre-primed, no. 25 portrait (figure) standard-size linen canvas. There is a stamp from the color merchant Vieille & Troisgros on the back of the original canvas. A warp-thread match was detected with two other Monet paintings in the Art Institute’s collection: Étretat: The Beach and the Falaise d’Amont (1885; 1964.204 [W1012]) (cat. 21) and The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885; 1922.428 [W1025]) (cat. 22), suggesting that the fabric for these paintings came from the same bolt of material.^[29] The ground consists of a single, off-white layer. The work was directly painted with very little deviation from the initial lay-in of the composition, which appears to have been rather cursory. The placement of the rocks was delineated with light brushstrokes. Broadly applied, thin applications of dull-brown and dull-purplish-gray paint were used to lay-in the dark, shadowed areas of the rocks. In the sky there is an intermittent pale-gray underlayer. An open network of thicker, impasted strokes was applied first in the water, imparting much of the texture there. In all areas of the composition, however, the brushwork remains open, with small areas of exposed ground remaining visible at the surface. The artist worked up each major element of the composition separately, often leaving a border of exposed ground around the edges of the forms, but working back and forth between the different elements and building up the composition as a whole. The surface brushwork consists largely of wet-in-wet paint application, suggesting a fairly rapid buildup of the painting. Technical examination detected one minor modification to the composition: the extension of the reddish-brown base of the front left rock farther into the water.^[30]10

Multilayer Interactive Image Viewer

The multilayer interactive image viewer is designed to facilitate the viewer’s exploration and comparison of the technical images (fig. 24.14).^[31]
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At the top, a pale blue sky with gray clouds stretches over a thin strip of light blue water on the horizon. Across the middle, large rock formations in dark green, brown, and reddish tones occupy most of the scene, creating narrow channels of bright blue water, including one near the center. In the foreground, rippled water in shades of blue, teal, green, and white fills the bottom, with rocky edges on both the left and right sides. — Natural Light

Across the top, a narrow light band sits beneath a darker strip, all in black, white, and gray tones. Below this, two large dark masses fill the left and right sides, separated by a lighter, tapering channel toward the center. The lower half is a dark area with horizontal, wavy lines in gray and white. Along the outer border, white L-shaped brackets with small notches appear at each corner. — X-Ray

At the top, a thin, pale horizontal band spans the width, bordered by darker, jagged ridges on the left and right. Across the middle, large craggy landforms fill most of the view, leaving a narrow passage near the center. At the bottom, a broad, dark rippled area occupies the foreground, with lighter gray patches; tones range from very light gray to near black. — Infrared Reflectogram (1.0–1.1 µm)

Top area shows a muted gray‑blue sky. Across the middle, large dark rock formations in brown, black, and deep purple stretch left to right, with a narrow gap near the center showing a lighter blue‑gray strip of distant water. The lower half is filled with rippling water in deep navy and black with small silvery highlights, framed by the rocks on both sides. No people or structures are present. — Raking Light

Rectangular grayscale scene bordered by thick black margins. From top to bottom, a thin light-gray horizontal band appears near the upper center, and below it are three large rounded dark-gray masses—one on the left, a larger one in the middle, and one on the right—separated by narrow gaps. The lower half is covered with dense, wavy black and dark-gray streaks, darkest at the bottom edge. No people or text are visible. — Transmitted Infrared (1.0–1.1 µm)

Top section shows a dark blue and orange sky stretching across the width. Below it, large dark rock formations fill the middle, rising on the left and right and leaving a narrow opening at the center back. The lower third is water with choppy ripples, reflecting yellow, red, and orange streaks that are brightest near the middle. Dark browns and blacks dominate the rocks, while the water and sky add contrasting warm and cool tones. — Transmitted Light

At the top, a dark blue sky with patches of deeper blue clouds spans across. Below, large jagged rock formations in deep blue and purple occupy the left and right, creating a narrow passage toward the back where a thin band of lighter blue water appears near the horizon. In the foreground, rippling water in mixed dark and bright blue fills the bottom, with a lighter streak running up the center; the rocks appear tall and broad compared with the narrow water channel. — Ultraviolet

Fig. 24.14

Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210. Interactive image.

Signature

Signed and dated: Claude Monet 86 (lower right corner, in light orange-brown paint^[32]) (fig. 24.15, fig. 24.16). Some of the underlying paint was still wet when the painting was signed, specifically the thicker, light-bluish-gray strokes near the bottom edge (fig. 24.17). This could suggest that the bluish-gray strokes were added later to the painting, as final touches, just before the artist signed the work.^[33]
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Upper area shows a mottled field of blues with small patches of green and white. Across the lower center, large red-brown letters spell “Claude Monet 86,” spanning most of the width. A thin beige strip runs along the very bottom edge. — Fig. 24.15

Detail of Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing the signature. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top area shows pale purple and blue with many small off-white dots. From the left center, wide raised streaks of reddish-brown angle toward the lower right, edged by small touches of green. Bottom right continues with reddish-brown and purple ridges, and a thin black vertical line labeled 1.0 cm runs along the right edge for scale. — Monet 64.210 MIC 6

Most of the frame is black. Along the bottom-left edge, a narrow rectangular section shows patches of blue and teal with touches of white and gray; across it runs large red-brown cursive lettering, with a tan strip at the very bottom. Near the left side of this section, a small black box outlines a short part of the lettering. No people or distinct objects are visible. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.16

Photomicrograph of the signature of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top area shows mixed blue and green patches with small white flecks. Across the middle, several vertical brown streaks run downward over a light blue and white textured surface, with a darker green patch near the lower left. Bottom edge has mottled blue, white, and purple areas, and a thin black scale bar labeled 1.0 cm spans the lower right. — Monet 64.210 MIC 4

Large black area fills most of the frame, with a small rectangular panel in the bottom-left corner. Inside this panel, mixed shades of blue, green, and white cover the surface, and a thin beige strip runs along the bottom edge. Red cursive text across the lower half appears to read “Claude Monet 86,” and a small black outlined rectangle sits near the left side of the panel. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.17

Photomicrograph of the signature of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing some wet-in-wet paint application. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Structure and Technique

Support

Canvas
Flax (commonly known as linen).^[34]13

Standard format
The original dimensions were approximately 65 × 81 cm, which corresponds to a no. 25 portrait (figure) standard-size canvas, turned horizontally.^[35]14

Weave
Plain weave; average thread count (standard deviation): 26.1H (0.8) × 28.7V (0.8) threads/cm.^[36] 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 (1885; 1964.204 [W1012]) (cat. 22) and The Departure of the Boats, Étretat (1885; 1922.428 [W1025]) (cat. 23).^[37]15

Canvas characteristics
Moderate, fairly even cusping is present around all four edges; the cusping is slightly stronger along the left and right edges. There are a number of irregularities (i.e., thicker threads and nubs) scattered throughout the canvas.16

Stretching
Current stretching: Dates to 1974 treatment (see Conservation History). Copper tacks spaced 6–8 cm apart.17

Original stretching: Tack holes, spaced 5.5–8 cm apart, correspond to the cusping pattern (fig. 24.18). An additional series of small pinholes, spaced at fairly regular intervals, was observed around the edges of the painting in the area of the original foldovers (5–6 holes on each side) (fig. 24.19). It is difficult to tell when the holes were made because of subsequent abrasion around the edges; in addition, the open holes are filled with wax-resin adhesive applied during the 1974 lining (see Conservation History), while other holes have been filled and retouched. The origin and purpose of these holes is not known.
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Top background shows out-of-focus shelves and objects in gray, white, and tan. Center foreground features a close-up of a long horizontal edge wrapped in beige, textured cloth, with small round brown tacks spaced along it and a faint wavy seam running left to right; the top surface is bluish‑gray with scattered darker spots. The bottom portion is a uniform black area. — Fig. 24.18

Detail of the bottom tacking edge of Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing cusping and original tack holes. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top area shows irregular ridges and streaks in light purple and dark blue running diagonally. Near the center, a small dark brown to black spot sits within a cluster of tan and white speckles. The lower band is off-white with tan pits and scattered blue flecks, forming a rough, granular zone. A scale bar at the bottom right labeled 2.0 mm indicates these features are very small. — Fig. 24.19

Photomicrograph of the bottom edge of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing a pinhole. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Stretcher/strainer
Current stretcher: ICA spring stretcher. Current stretcher depth: 2.7 cm.19

Original stretcher: Discarded. The pre-1974-treatment stretcher may have been the original stretcher. An undated report on file records that that stretcher was five membered with a vertical crossbar and mortise and tenon joints. The report gives the following dimensions: overall, 65.5 × 81.7 cm; outside depth, 2 cm; stretcher-bar width, 7 cm; inside depth, 2.5 cm; distance from canvas position, 0.5 cm; and length of mortise, 7 cm.^[38]20

Manufacturer’s/supplier’s marks
Prior to lining, a tracing was made of a supplier’s stamp on the original canvas back. Text within palette-shaped frame: H. VIEILLE E. TROISGROS / […] RUE DE […] / PARIS / COULEURS […] / TOILES PANEAUX [sic] (fig. 24.20). The original canvas back is now obscured by the lining canvas, but traces of the stamp were visible when the painting was imaged using transmitted-infrared light (fig. 24.21).
21

Centered on a white background is a single oval black stamp with worn lettering. From top to bottom: the upper arc reads “H. VIEILLE F. TROISGROS” (partially faded), a thinner line of text above the center is mostly illegible, the center line reads “PARIS,” and the lower arc reads “COULEURS ET TOILES PANEAUX” with some missing characters. The oval outline is uneven and broken in places, and no other colors or objects are present. — Fig. 24.20

Tracing of a supplier’s stamp from the back of the original canvas of Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886). The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

At the top, a narrow light gray band runs horizontally beneath a thick black border. The middle area shows two large rounded masses in medium to dark gray on the left and right, with a lighter, narrower channel between them toward the upper center. The bottom third contains dense horizontal and diagonal dark gray streaks over a lighter ground. Colors are shades of black, dark gray, and light gray, and a dark border frames all four edges of this single image. — Monet 64.210 Non Reg 64.210 TRNS IR

Fig. 24.21

Transmitted-infrared (Fuji, 1.0–1.1 µm) image of Monet’s The Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing a supplier’s stamp on the back of the original canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Preparatory Layers

Sizing
Not determined (probably glue).^[39]22

Ground application/texture
The ground layer 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. It consists of a single layer that ranges from approximately 10 to 100 µm in thickness (fig. 24.22). Several bubble holes were observed where the ground is exposed on the painting surface.
23

Gray background with faint horizontal lines spans the frame. Near the top center, an uneven white band runs left to right with lumpy edges. Below it, several overlapping brown, oval areas fill the middle, showing fine, net-like cracks with scattered tiny black and dark-blue specks. A scale bar at bottom left is labeled 100 µm. — Monet 64.210 x1328_10x_dkfld_a

Top area shows a pale blue sky with soft white and gray clouds. Across the middle, dark brown and purple rocky cliffs run left to right, with a large central rock and another big cliff on the right, creating narrow gaps of blue‑green water between them. Bottom area is rippling water in blue, green, and turquoise with lighter streaks, filling the foreground; the cliffs and rocks appear large compared with the water. — Sample Location

Fig. 24.22

Photomicrograph of a cross section of the ground and canvas layers of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886). Original magnification: 100×. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Color
The ground is off-white. Under the microscope, a few dark and possibly red particles were visible (fig. 24.23).
24

Top area shows an off-white surface with scattered small brown spots. Moving downward, a pale beige layer with a network of thin, irregular lines contains occasional darker brown flecks. Along the bottom edge, a continuous band of darker brown, grainy patches runs horizontally; a scale bar labeled 2.0 mm sits in the lower right for size reference. — Monet 64.210 MIC 2

A large black background fills most of the view, with a small rectangular picture positioned at the bottom left. Inside the picture, patches of blue, green, purple, and white create a lighter vertical band down the center, with darker green and blue areas along the right and lower left. A reddish-brown area sits near the upper left edge of the picture, and the colors are darker toward the edges compared with the lighter center. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.23

Photomicrograph of the bottom edge of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing the ground layer. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Materials/composition
Analysis indicates that the ground layer contains lead white and calcium carbonate (chalk) with traces of bone black, iron oxide, alumina, silica, and silicates.^[40] Binder: oil (estimated).25

Compositional Planning/Underdrawing/Painted Sketch

Extent/character
No underdrawing was observed with infrared reflectography (IRR) or microscopic examination.26

Paint Layer

Application/technique and artist’s revisions
The work appears to have been executed relatively rapidly, with no significant alterations in the composition from how it was initially laid in. The brushwork is fairly open, with small areas of exposed ground visible throughout the composition, and consists largely of wet-in-wet paint applications. The work, however, was probably carried out in more than one session, since the underpainting and the thick strokes of impasto in the water appear to have been dry when the upper paint layers were built up. The main compositional features—the rocks, sky and pools of water—were built up separately with only minimal overlap along some of the edges as the painting was worked up (fig. 24.24). A border of exposed ground often remains visible at the junctures of these forms. This is particularly evident along the horizon and around the pools of water (fig. 24.25). Where the rocks overlap one another, on the other hand, there are no distinct borders between them.The artist built up the composition as a whole, working back and forth between the different areas with some wet-in-wet overlapping of strokes at the edges of some forms.
27

Top section shows a cloudy sky in dark blue with streaks of orange and yellow. The middle is dominated by large, dark brown and red rock formations on the left and right, leaving a narrow opening toward distant water. The bottom area is rippling water with broken reflections in yellow, orange, red, and black. Single scene with the rocks occupying most of the space and the water and sky visible between and below them. — Transmitted Light

At the top, a light gray band meets darker, uneven shapes extending left to right. The center is dominated by two large dark masses on the left and right, with a narrow, lighter channel running between them toward the distance. The lower half shows a dark surface covered with wavy, streaked highlights. Thin white bracket-like markers appear near all four corners inside a translucent border; everything is rendered in shades of black, white, and gray. — X-Ray

Top section shows a pale blue-gray sky with scattered clouds above a thin horizon line of dark, distant cliffs. The middle area features large rocky outcrops in brown, red, and purple tones, with a narrow water channel cutting between the central and right rocks; more cliffs extend across the background. In the foreground, the sea fills most of the frame, colored in deep green, blue, and white, with lighter patches suggesting ripples and reflections around the rocks. — Natural Light

Fig. 24.24

Transmitted-light, X-ray, and natural-light images of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing the buildup of the painting. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210. Interactive image.

Top section shows a pale blue and white sky with thin streaks of cloud. A narrow, very dark horizontal band runs across the middle from left to right. The lower half is a wide area of deep greens, blues, and purples that slopes downward, while the right edge has brown and red patches with small yellow highlights. — Fig. 24.25

Detail of the horizon in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing exposed ground at the edges. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

The composition was broadly mapped out to delineate the placement of the rocks; however, the lay-in appears to have been rather cursory, without the use of an overall underpainting. Along the horizon, the rocks seem to have been outlined using a relatively dry brush. This is evident, for example, along the tops of the background rocks at the far left and center, where a thinly applied stroke of dark purplish paint, deposited mainly on the high points of the canvas, seems to be related to the earliest lay-in, marking the upper edges of these landforms (fig. 24.26, fig. 24.27). The surrounding sky and water were brought up to these outlining strokes, and then the rocks were built up (fig. 24.28). In some areas, such as the plateaus at the top of the central rock, the artist used thicker, more textural brushstrokes to lay in the basic forms (fig. 24.29). The foreground rocks consist of a relatively open network of brushstrokes, with areas of exposed ground between strokes, especially on the sunlit faces (fig. 24.30). In some places, near the edges, the rocks look like they were blocked in with flat, dull-brown and purple-gray tones. The distant rocks and shadowed rock on the right side have more continuous underlayers, in the form of thin applications of dull-purple and dull-green, which are incorporated into the final painting (fig. 24.31). Only one minor adjustment was observed in the painting: the base of the left foreground rock was extended further to the right. A closer view shows that the reddish-brown paint from the rock was added on top of the water (fig. 24.32).
28

Top area shows light blue and pale gray horizontal streaks. Across the middle, a mottled band of small cream and dark purple dots extends left to right. The lower half is a dark green‑black area with scattered lighter flecks. On the left edge, a vertical scale bar is labeled 50 mm. — Monet 64.210 MIC 27

At the top, a pale blue and lavender sky with large, soft clouds fills most of the scene. Along the middle, a thin band of light blue-gray water runs horizontally at the horizon. At the bottom, a broad, low brown‑green bluff slopes in from the left while a darker, steeper rocky slope rises on the right, leaving a narrow gap that opens to the water. Near the lower center-left, a small black rectangle sits just above the shoreline. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.26

Photomicrograph of a rock in Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing a dark-purple underlayer. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top area shows a light blue-gray surface with uneven ridges and faint streaks of pale green and purple. Across the middle runs a thin speckled band of off-white dots over dark gray. The bottom half is dark blue to nearly black with many short, shiny grooves, and a scale marker in the lower left reads 5.0 mm. — Monet 64.210 MIC 30

A large black background fills most of the frame, with a small rectangular landscape in the bottom-right corner occupying roughly a quarter of the space. From top to bottom of the landscape, a pale blue and light pink sky sits above a thin dark horizon line. Below the horizon, dark green and purple ground fills the foreground with scattered streaks of yellow, green, and lavender. A small black outlined square appears near the left edge of the landscape, just above the horizon. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.27

Photomicrograph of the horizon in Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing a dark-purple underlayer. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top section shows a pale blue sky with light gray and lavender clouds. Across the middle, a dark brown and deep green ridge runs left to right, with its right side sloping toward light blue water. The bottom area has uneven ground in mixed greens, browns, yellows, and red-browns arranged in irregular patches and bands; the ridge occupies most of the center, with sky above and sea at the far right. — Fig. 24.28

Detail of the rocks in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing the buildup of the paint. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

From top to bottom, a band of lighter gray sits above darker gray landforms, with a narrow pale strip near the center of the horizon. The middle shows two large dark masses on the left and right, separated by a lighter gap that recedes toward the pale strip. The lower half is a broad dark area crossed by wavy, horizontal lighter streaks. All elements are in shades of black, gray, and white, with a light rectangular border and right‑angle markers along the edges. — X-Ray

Top shows a pale blue and gray sky with scattered clouds above a distant, dark shoreline. The middle area has large jagged rock formations in brown, green, and purple tones, with the largest mass near the center and narrower cliffs on the left and right, separated by narrow channels of light blue water. The foreground is rippling seawater in dark green, blue, and white, covering most of the lower half. No people or structures are visible. — Natural Light

Fig. 24.29

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing the buildup of the paint layers. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210. Interactive image.

Foreground shows a massive, irregular rock formation in brown, green, and purple tones, with dark blue‑green water pooling at its base. To the left and right are tall cliff faces in dark green, gray, and reddish‑brown that frame narrow channels leading to brighter blue water in the middle distance. Along the top edge, a thin band of pale blue sky sits above a strip of distant, calm water. — Fig. 24.30

Detail of the central rock in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing the open brushwork. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top section shows a pale blue sky with thin white clouds. Below, a dark horizontal band marks the horizon, dropping into steep, shadowed slopes in dark green, blue, gray, and brown. Left and right sides are high rocky walls with streaks of red, green, purple, and tan; near the bottom center, a narrow band of bright blue water runs across. No people or structures are present. — Fig. 24.31

Detail of a rock in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing a dark-purple underlayer exposed through the open brushwork. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top section shows a thin, light gray band stretching across the width. Below it, two large dark gray masses dominate the left and right sides, leaving a paler central channel with a small bright horizontal strip near the middle. The lower half is filled with dark, wavy horizontal streaks and patches of lighter gray. Bright rectangular corner brackets with screw‑like details sit at all four corners (and small tick marks along the edges), overlapping the scene; the dark masses take up most of the frame while the light band and brackets are comparatively small. — X-Ray

Top to bottom: a pale blue‑gray sky with scattered clouds sits above a thin horizon line. Across the middle, dark green and brown cliffs and a large central rock form a jagged coastline, creating two narrow channels of water. In the foreground, blue, green, and white water fills the lower half, with ripples running between the rocks; the largest rock mass is near the center, flanked by smaller formations on the left and a tall cliff on the right. — Natural Light

Fig. 24.32

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing a change made to the composition. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210. Interactive image.

The sky appears to have been built up in a single wet-in-wet session after the initial lay-in. As observed in other areas of the painting, the lay-in—visible here and there, mainly near the horizon, as a thin, brush-marked, pale-gray layer—seems to have been very summary, with areas of ground left exposed throughout the sky, especially near the upper right corner (fig. 24.33). The brushwork consists of discrete strokes of yellow, blue, pink, and green, mixed with varying amounts of white paint, all worked wet-in-wet (fig. 24.34). There are also a few thicker brushstrokes of lead white–rich impasto, (fig. 24.35). The blue calligraphic strokes (right of center) were also applied on top of wet paint (fig. 24.36).
29

Figs. 24.33–24.36

Top section shows a broad sky in pale gray and light blue with scattered white and light pink cloud patches. Across the lower edge runs a low, uneven dark ridge of hills in deep purple and green, with a thin curved blue line near the right side. The sky occupies most of the scene, while the dark ridge forms a narrow band along the bottom. — Fig. 24.33

Detail of the sky in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing areas of exposed ground. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Upper half shows a wide pale blue sky with soft streaks of light purple and gray clouds. Across the middle, a long dark cliff runs left to right, with green and brown rocky ground in the foreground and a steep edge to the left. At the far right, flat light blue water extends to the horizon where it meets the sky. — Fig. 24.34

Detail of the sky in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing wet-in-wet paint application. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top edge holds a wide band of pale gray with a faint lavender tint. Moving downward, the center shows scattered irregular light areas in off-white and peach against gray, with small patches of light blue spaced between them from left to right. The lower portion contains broader areas of light blue mixed with gray, with several small peach ovals clustered toward the right. — Fig. 24.35

Detail of the sky in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing thick brushstrokes. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top to bottom, soft patches and swirls of light blue dominate, with streaks of white and small touches of pale pink and lavender. Left and center hold several larger rounded blue areas, while the right side has smaller pale sections with thin white streaks. No distinct objects, figures, or text are present; the frame is a continuous expanse of blended cool colors. — Fig. 24.36

Detail of the sky in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing wet-on-wet paint application. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

The water was laid in with a series of long, horizontal and diagonal textural strokes of pale-purplish-gray paint, which can be seen in the X-ray (fig. 24.37). The lighter areas where the sky is reflected also seem to have been indicated in this underlayer (fig. 24.38). The shorter strokes and touches of more intense blues, greens, and purples of the water were applied over top when the underlying strokes were already dry (fig. 24.39). The pale-purplish-gray underpainting strokes and the ground layer remain exposed in places, especially in the sunlit areas of the water, creating the effect of light flickering off the surface. Some of the white areas are also the result of daubs of lead white–rich strokes applied on top. Overall, the palette consists of fairly subdued or earth-toned colors, but the artist applied localized touches of relatively pure paint from the tube that is quite brilliant, especially when viewed under magnification. These are often some of the final touches to the painting and can be seen in the bright blues and greens in the water (fig. 24.40, fig. 24.41, fig. 24.42), as well as the occasional touch of bright red in the rocks. The area of water just below the horizon was applied in three or four broad horizontal strokes, with a few additional shorter strokes filling in the edges. A lightly applied, dull-greenish-blue, dry-brush stroke was applied over the dried paint of the water to emphasize the horizon (fig. 24.43).
30

Top third shows a light gray band stretching left to right, with a brighter narrow strip near the upper center. The middle area contains two large, dark gray masses on the left and right, separated by a lighter gray gap running downward. The bottom third is dark gray with many horizontal, wavy streaks. Near each corner, bright white L-shaped brackets with small notches sit over the edges. — X-Ray

Top section shows a pale blue‑gray sky with scattered clouds over a thin strip of light blue horizon water. Across the middle, large jagged rock formations in brown, gray, and deep purple fill most of the width, with darker cliffs along the left and right edges and two narrow turquoise channels between the rocks. In the foreground, rippling blue‑green water with white highlights spreads across the bottom, leading toward the central rocks. — Natural Light

Fig. 24.37

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing diagonal textural strokes applied underneath the water. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210. Interactive image.

Top section shows a mottled light gray band with a thin bright strip near the center. The middle is dominated by two large dark gray masses on the left and right, separated by a narrow lighter channel, with small light gray patches along their inner edges. The bottom third is a wide area of dark gray covered with wavy, lighter streaks; along all four edges are light gray L‑shaped corner brackets and small tick marks that act as guides, with the corner brackets appearing large compared to other details. — X-Ray

At the top, a pale blue-gray sky with scattered clouds meets a thin horizon line. Below, large dark green and brown rock formations dominate the center and sides, creating steep cliffs and narrow passages that lead toward the distance. Water in shades of turquoise, deep blue, and green fills the gaps and spreads across the foreground, with lighter streaks where it reflects light. The central rock mass is the largest element, with slightly smaller jagged cliffs on the left and right framing it. — Natural Light

Fig. 24.38

X-ray and natural-light details of Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing the buildup of the paint layers. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210. Interactive image.

Top area shows a textured surface mottled with white and medium blue, with small specks scattered throughout. The middle is mostly pale blue with many narrow ridges and streaks running diagonally from upper left to lower right. Bottom left has a small patch of dark green, and bottom right contains a denser cluster of dark blue ridges with a small spot of bright blue. A black horizontal bar labeled 1.0 cm sits in the lower right corner as a scale. — Monet 64.210 MIC 16

Most of the frame is solid black; in the lower left, a small rectangle contains mottled blue, green, purple, and white. Inside this rectangle, a lighter vertical band runs from top to bottom through the center, with darker green-blue areas on the right and a reddish-brown patch toward the upper left. A small black square sits near the bottom edge of the colored rectangle. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.39

Photomicrograph of the water in Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing wet-over-dry paint application. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top area is mostly dark purple and reddish-brown, with soft vertical bands and a small, bright green patch near the upper left-center. Middle section remains dark, with clustered green lines toward the left and a larger dark zone to the right. Bottom third features a wide band of deep blue and black with scattered lighter gray and white specks, tapering into muted browns and grays along the lower left edge. — Fig. 24.40

Detail of the water in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing some final touches of bright blue and green paint. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top and left areas are deep navy and black with scattered lighter blue specks. Near the center-left, a large irregular mint-green patch with fine cracks is bordered by darker green and black; to its right, a diagonal bright blue band runs toward the upper right. Bottom and lower right are mostly dark with small green flecks and fine light scratches, and a scale bar reading 5.0 mm appears at the lower left. — Monet 64.210 MIC 36

A mostly black background surrounds a small seascape positioned in the lower-right corner. Across the top of the seascape is a thin strip of light blue sky; below it, tall rocky cliffs in dark purples, reds, and grays form a narrow inlet, with the larger cliff on the right and a smaller one on the left. Green-blue water fills the bottom half, and a small black rectangle near the lower-right marks a bright green patch on the water’s surface. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.41

Photomicrograph of the water in Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing a touch of bright-green paint. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top area has dark purple and near-black patches with small white flecks. Across the center, broad bands of deep blue with darker greenish-blue streaks run left to right, crossed by many fine hairline cracks; a few light gray to white spots sit near the center-right. Bottom edge includes a lighter strip of bluish white with scattered speckles, and small pinkish-purple patches appear near the lower-left and upper-left. A scale marker labeled 5.0 mm is positioned at the lower-left. — Monet 64.210 MIC 37

Top center shows a bright blue-green stretch of water between two high rocky walls. The left and right sides are dominated by steep rock formations in purples, browns, grays, and touches of red that curve inward, creating a narrow passage. In the foreground, rippling water in blues, greens, and white runs toward the bottom edge with dark streaks on the surface. The rocks are large in scale compared to the narrow waterway. — Detail Location

Fig. 24.42

Photomicrograph of the water in Monet’s Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (1886) showing a touch of intense blue paint. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

Top section: a cloudy sky in light blue, white, and pale purple. Middle: a thin, distant band of pale blue water stretches across the scene. Bottom foreground: two large hills slope inward from left and right—olive and brown on the left, dark blue‑green on the right—framing a narrow opening toward the water. — Fig. 24.43

Detail of the water in Monet’s *Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing the buildup of the paint layers. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

There are a few small, localized areas of deep-blue and deep-green paint in the sky, close to the top edge, near the center and on the left side, which appear to be unintentional accretions (fig. 24.44).^[41] When viewed microscopically, these marks appear to be partially covered by paint from the sky, suggesting that they were acquired while the work was being painted. They could be accidents from handling or related to paint transfer from an easel cleat or transporting device.
31

Top area shows a pale gray-white field with raised ridges running mostly left to right. Mid-right holds two rounded patches of light blue, one above the other, blending into the surrounding pale tones. Near center-left, faint lavender and pink tints appear with a small cluster of tiny green specks. The lower-right continues the pale surface with additional light blue swaths over an uneven, ridged texture. — Fig. 24.44

Detail of the sky in Monet’s *The Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) showing accidental paint accretions. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.210.

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 layers.32

Palette
Analysis indicates the presence of the following pigments: lead white, cadmium yellow, chrome yellow, vermilion, red lake, emerald green, viridian, cobalt blue, and ultramarine blue.^[42] UV fluorescence of areas of reddish-brown paint in the rocks and reflections suggests the liberal use of red lake.^[43]33

Binding media
Oil (estimated).^[44]34

Surface Finish

Varnish layer/media
The painting has a synthetic varnish, which imparts a variable surface sheen—glossy in some areas and matte in others—depending on the qualities of the paint application. During the 1974 treatment, a discolored varnish was removed; the origin of this varnish was not documented (see Conservation History)35

Conservation History

In 1974, a discolored surface film was removed. The canvas was wax-resin lined and restretched on an ICA spring stretcher. A layer of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) AYAA was applied. Minimal inpainting was carried out. A layer of methacrylate resin L-46 was applied, followed by a final layer of AYAA.^[45]36

Condition Summary

The painting is in good condition. The canvas is wax-resin lined and stretched flat and taut on an ICA spring stretcher. The new stretcher was slightly larger than the original; as a result a border of unpainted ground from the original tacking margin is visible around the edges of the painting. Retouching was applied to the edges to tone out the exposed ground, especially along the top edge. There is general wear and abrasion of the ground layer, as well as old paper and glue residues, on all tacking margins. The paint layer is in good condition, with only a few very small losses near the edges. Some moating and flattening of thicker impasto was observed, likely the result of the lining process. There is minimal cracking, limited mainly to thicker areas of paint application, with some localized drying cracks in areas of more fluid paint application. There are several brush hairs embedded in the paint layers. Starch-paste residues from the lining procedure are visible microscopically in the recesses of the more textural brushwork. The painting has a saturating synthetic resin varnish that is glossy in some areas and matte in others, depending on the qualities of the underlying paint.

Kimberley Muir
37

Frame

The current frame (installed by 1975) is not original to the painting.^[46] It is a French (Provençal), late-seventeenth–early-eighteenth-century, Louis XIV, scotia frame with carved corner foliate and center foliate-and-shell cartouches on a diamond bed with outer dentil, sanded frieze, and leaf-tip sight molding. It is water gilded over red bole on gesso with the ornament selectively burnished. The gilding is heavily rubbed; this and toning washes of umber and gray casein probably date to the pairing of the frame with the painting. The carved oak moldings are mitered and joined with angled dovetails. The original back of the frame has been planed flat, removing all construction history and provenance. A back frame has been glued to the back, and the back and interior of the frame have been overpainted. The molding, from perimeter to interior, is ovolo with carved dentil; scotia side; scotia face with corner foliate and center foliate-and-shell cartouches; fillet; sanded frieze; and ogee leaf-tip sight molding (fig. 24.45).^[47]
38

Kirk Vuillemot
39

Sold by the artist to Durand-Ruel, Paris, Dec. 21, 1892, for 4,500 francs.^[48]40

Sold by Durand-Ruel, Paris, to Durand-Ruel, New York, Dec. 19, 1895 or Jan. 4, 1896.^[49]41

Sold by Durand-Ruel, New York, to Mrs. John Jay (Harriet Blair) Borland, Chicago, Mar. 6, 1897, for $2,000.^[50]42

By descent from Mrs. John Jay (Harriet Blair) Borland (died 1933), Chicago, to her son Chauncey Blair Borland, Chicago.43

Given by Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey B. Borland, Chicago, to the Art Institute of Chicago, beginning in 1964.^[51]
44

Musée de Ghent, 36e exposition des beaux-arts, Sept. 1–Oct. 28, 1895, no cat. no.^[52]45

Boston, Copley Society, Loan Collection of Paintings by Claude Monet and Eleven Sculptures by Auguste Rodin, Mar. 1905, cat. 75, as Belle-Isle. 1886. Lent by Mrs. John Jay Borland.46

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Collectors: An Exhibition Sponsored by the Men’s Council of the Art Institute, Sept. 20–Oct. 27, 1963, no cat. no. (ill.).47

Art Institute of Chicago, Masterpieces from Private Collections in Chicago, July 12–Aug. 31, 1969, no cat. no.48

Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings by Monet, Mar. 15–May 11, 1975, cat. 71 (ill.). (fig. 24.46)
49

On a tan gallery wall, four gold-framed artworks hang left to right beneath the wall text “1882–1886.” From left to right: a bright landscape with green plants and tall palm trees; a coastal view with gray‑brown rocks and blue water under a light sky; a smaller vertical piece in warm yellow and orange tones with a central rounded shape; and another coastal view showing dark rocks beside rippling blue water. The frames sit at about eye level above a brown carpet, with thin cord barriers near the lower left and right corners of the room. — Fig. 24.46

Installation of Monet’s *The Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île* (1886) in *Paintings by Monet*, Art Institute of Chicago, Mar. 15–May 11, 1975. Institutional Archives, Art Institute of Chicago.

Fort Worth, Tex., Kimbell Art Museum, The Impressionists: Master Paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago, June 29–Nov. 2, 2008, cat. 49 (ill.).
50

Copley Society, Loan Collection of Paintings by Claude Monet and Eleven Sculptures by August Rodin, exh. cat. (Copley Society, 1905), p. 24, cat. 75.51

Raymond Régamey, “La formation de Claude Monet,” Gazette des beaux-arts 5, 15 (Feb. 1927), p. 77 (ill.).52

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Collectors: An Exhibition Sponsored by the Men’s Council of the Art Institute, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, [1963]), pp. 3; 17, pl. 6.53

Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report, 1963–64 (Art Institute of Chicago, [1964]), p. 19.54

Art Institute of Chicago, Masterpieces from Private Collections in Chicago, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, [1969]), n. pag.55

Grace Seiberling, “The Evolution of an Impressionist,” in Paintings by Monet, ed. Susan Wise, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1975), pp. 30, 32.56

Susan Wise, ed., Paintings by Monet, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1975), p. 128, cat. 71 (ill.).57

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 200; 201, cat. 1095.58

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 3, Peintures, 1887–1898 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 269, letters 1172 and 1173.59

Denise Delouche, “Monet et Belle-Ile en 1886,” Bulletin des amis du Musée de Rennes 4 (1980), pp. 48, fig. 34; 54, n. 28.60

Charles F. Stuckey, ed., Monet: A Retrospective (Hugh Lauter Levin, 1985), p. 214, pl. 86.61

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. 103 (ill.).62

Denise Delouche, Monet à Belle-Ile (Chasse-Marée/ArMen, 1992), pp. 51, 53, 54–55 (ill.).63

Andrew Forge, Monet, Artists in Focus (Art Institute of Chicago, 1995), pp. 37–39; 83, pl. 12, 107.64

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 415, cat. 1095 (ill.); 416.65

Sotheby’s, New York, Impressionist and Modern Art, Part I, sale cat. (Sotheby’s, Nov. 16, 1998), p. 52, fig. 2.66

Vivian Russell, Monet’s Landscapes (Frances Lincoln, 2000), pp. 66 (ill.), 160.67

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. 81; 109, cat. 49 (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. 81; 109, cat. 49 (ill.).^[53]68

Félicie de Maupeou, “Monet peint par ses livres,” in Claire Maingon and Félicie de Maupeou, La bibliothèque de Monet, under the direction of Ségolène Le Men, exh. cat. (Citadelles & Mazenod, 2013), pp. 46-47 (ill.).
69

Documentation from the Durand-Ruel Archives

Inventory number
Stock Durand-Ruel Paris 2542
Paris Stock Book 1891–1901^[54]70

Inventory number
Stock Durand-Ruel New York 1515
New York Stock Book 1894–1905^[55]71

Photograph number
Photo Durand-Ruel Paris 592^[56]72

Labels and Inscriptions

Undated

Label
Location: pre-1974-treatment stretcher (discarded); preserved in conservation file
Method: printed label with handwritten script
Content: DURAND-RUEL / PARIS, 16, Rue Laffi[tte] / NEW-YORK, 315, Fifth avenue / Monet No2542 / Belle Ile / c[or e?]sss. (fig. 24.48)
74

A rectangular brown label with a worn surface is centered on a dark background, with a small puncture near the upper left, a ragged hole near the top right, and a larger missing piece along the bottom edge. Across the top, printed black text reads “DURAND-RUEL,” followed by two lines: “PARIS 16, Rue Laff…” (partly cut off) and “NEW-YORK. 315, Fifth avenue” with a small decorative flourish between them. In the lower half, large gray-black cursive handwriting includes “Monet” and “No 2512,” with additional words that are faint or partially obscured. — Fig. 24.48

Label
Location: stretcher
Method: printed label with handwritten text and green ink stamp
Content: THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60603, U.S.A. / To Monet, Claude / Rocks at Belle Isle / 1964.210
Stamp: Inventory—1980–1981 (fig. 24.49)
75

Top to bottom: a strip of beige fabric sits above a white rectangular label that is fixed to a brown bar. The label’s top line has black printed text reading “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO,” with “CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60603, U.S.A.” below it. In the center-left, gray‑blue handwriting reads “Monet, Claude,” then “Rocks at Belle Isle,” with “1964.210” underneath. On the right, light blue text says “Inventory – 1980 – 1981” next to a small round hole; more beige fabric appears in the background below. — Fig. 24.49

Label
Location: backing board
Method: printed label
Content: THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / ARTIST: Claude Monet / TITLE: Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Ile (1886) / MEDIUM: Oil on canvas / CREDIT: Gift of Mr. / Mrs. Chauncey B. Borland / ACC.#: 1964.210 (fig. 24.50)
76

Rectangular white museum label with black text; the top line reads “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO.” Below, left-aligned lines list: “ARTIST: Claude Monet,” “TITLE: Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Ile (1886),” and “MEDIUM: Oil on canvas.” Near the bottom it reads “CREDIT: Gift of Mr./Mrs. Chauncey B. Borland” and “ACC.#: 1964.210.” — Fig. 24.50

Number
Location: frame
Method: handwritten text
Content: 1964.210 (fig. 24.51)
77

Top to bottom, a narrow lighter line runs along the upper edge, with a wider light brown horizontal band below it. Near the middle of this band, dark gray handwritten numerals read “1964.210.” Small white scuffs and specks are scattered across the surface around the writing. — Fig. 24.51

Number
Location: lining canvas
Method: handwritten text
Content: 64.210 (fig. 24.52)
78

Top area: a gold-colored hinge strip with four circular holes and one shiny screw spans across tan slats. Beneath it is a thin black strip and a beige, textured band with the handwritten number “64.210” in dark gray. The lower section shows brown boards with visible grain meeting at an angled seam, with a small round hole near the bottom edge. — Fig. 24.52

Pre-1980

Stamp
Location: original canvas; tracing in conservation file
Method: undocumented, text within palette-shaped frame
Content: H. VIEILLE E. TROISGROS / […] RUE DE […] / PARIS / COULEURS […] / TOILES PANEAUX [sic] (fig. 24.53, fig. 24.54)
79

White background with a faint, oval outline filled with uneven dark gray text in French, centered in the frame. From top to bottom, the upper arc shows partial words where “VIEILLE” and “TROISGROS” are partly legible; the center line clearly reads “PARIS”; the lower arc reads “COULEURS ET TOILES” followed by an unclear word. The oval mark sits in the middle and takes up much of the width, with broad white space around it. — Fig. 24.53

At the top, a horizontal band of medium gray sits beneath a thick black border. Below it, two large irregular masses occupy the left and right sides, separated by a narrow lighter gap near the center. The lower third is covered with dense, horizontal dark-gray streaks that form a rippled texture across the width. The composition is monochrome, using black, dark gray, and light gray within a solid black frame. — Fig. 24.54

Label
Location: stretcher
Method: printed label
Content: I. C. A. SPRING STRETCHERS / OBERLIN, OHIO 44074^[58] (fig. 24.55)
80

Top: a small brass-colored tab overlaps the upper edge of a reflective silver label mounted on light brown wood. Center: black text on the label reads “I. C. A. SPRING STRETCHERS.” Bottom line: smaller black text reads “OBERLIN, OHIO 44074.” Left of center on the label is a round hole. — Fig. 24.55

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.81

Infrared Reflectography

Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-Nite 1000B/2 mm filter (1.0–1.1 µm); Inframetrics Infracam with 1.5–1.73 µm filter.82

Transmitted Infrared

Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-Nite 1000B/2 mm filter (1.0–1.1 µm).83

Visible Light

Natural-light, raking-light, and transmitted-light overalls and macrophotography: Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-NiteCC1 filter.84

Ultraviolet

Fujifilm S5 Pro with X-NiteCC1 filter and Kodak Wratten 2E filter.85

High-Resolution Visible Light (and Ultraviolet)

Sinar P3 camera with Sinarback eVolution 75H (B+W 486 UV/IR cut MRC filter, X-NiteCC1 filter, and Kodak Wratten 2E filter).86

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.87

X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF)

Several spots on the painting were analyzed in situ with a Bruker/Keymaster TRACeR III-V with rhodium tube.88

Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM)

Zeiss Universal research microscope.89

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.90

Automated Thread Counting

Thread count and weave information were determined by Thread Count Automation Project software.^[59]91

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.^[60]92

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. 24.56).
93

Fig. 24.56
Location/Negative #	Format	Purpose	Date	Lighting, Notes
S1827			Unknown
M7945			Unknown
C27944	8 × 10 B&W negative		Unknown
C39735	8 × 10 B&W negative	Posttreatment	1974	Normal, overall
Conservation	8 × 10 B&W negative	Pretreatment	June 17, 1974	Normal, overall
Conservation	8 × 10 B&W negative	Pretreatment	June 17, 1974	Ultraviolet, overall
Conservation	4 × 5 B&W negative	Pretreatment	June 17, 1974	Infrared, overall
Conservation	35 mm color slide	Pretreatment	July 1974	Normal, overall
Conservation	35 mm color slide	Midtreatment	July 1974	Normal, overall; partially cleaned
Conservation	35 mm color slide	Midtreatment	July 1974	Normal, detail: sky near center; partially cleaned
E09090			Dec. 1, 1985	Normal, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 17, 2010	X-ray films scanned/digitally composited, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 19, 2010	Normal, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 19, 2010	Raking light, overall (2 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 19, 2010	Ultraviolet, overall (2 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 19, 2010	Infrared (Fuji, 1000B/2 mm filter), overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 19, 2010	Transmitted light, overall
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 19, 2010	Macro details (20 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Mar. 23, 2010	Photomicrographs of surface (34 total)
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	June 29, 2010	Detail images of verso, labels (6 total)
G39357	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 13, 2012	Normal, overall; composite of G39646–G39665
G39646–G39665	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 13, 2012	Sections (20 total)
G39358	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 14, 2012	Ultraviolet, overall
G39359	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 15, 2012	Normal, frame only
Conservation	Digital	OSCI	Feb. 15, 2012	Transmitted infrared (Fuji, 1000B/2 mm filter), 2 overall and 1 detail of canvas stamp

Notes

Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (W1095) corresponds to Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 415, cat. 1095 (ill.); 416. The Art Institute currently uses the title that resulted from the research for the 1995 exhibition Claude Monet, 1840–1926. See curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago. The painting had the following titles during the lifetime of the artist:
Jan. 4, 1896: Belle Isle (Durand-Ruel, New York, stock book 1894–1905 [no. 1515]; 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. 1905: Belle-Isle. 1886. (Copley Society, Loan Collection of Paintings by Claude Monet and Eleven Sculptures by August Rodin, exh. cat. [Copley Society, 1905], p. 24, cat. 75).
Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), p. 213, citing Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 50; 275, letters 676–678; 277, letter 690; 278, letter 699. Wildenstein quotes a letter in 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), p. 136, that Renoir sent to Durand-Ruel in August 1886 from Saint-Briac, which included the postscript, “J’ai écrit à Monet pour lui signaler des choses superbes pour lui” (I wrote to Monet to tell him about the beautiful things for him).
See Gustave Flaubert, Par les champs et par les grèves (voyage en Bretagne), accompagné de mélanges et fragments inédits (Charpentier, 1886). While Port-Goulphar is not specifically mentioned, Flaubert talks about a trip to the rocks and his descent from a cliff down to the beach; he describes: “les rochers, étendant à l’infini leurs sombres masses de verdure, faisaient succéder de l’un à l’autre leurs têtes inégales qui grandissaient en se multipliant comme des fantômes noirs sortant de dessous terre” (the rocks, endlessly stretching their dark masses of greenery, followed one after another with their uneven tops, which grew while multiplying themselves like black ghosts emerging from beneath the soil). Gustave Flaubert, Par les champs et par les grèves (voyage en Bretagne), accompagné de mélanges et fragments inédits (Charpentier, 1886), p. 127; translated in Robert Gordon and Andrew Forge, Monet (Abrams, 1983), p. 113. Monet owned a copy of Par les champs et par les grèves, according to an inventory prepared by Félicie de Maupeou, in collaboration with Pâquerette Le Men, “Les livres de la bibliothèque de Monet à Giverny,” under the direction of Ségolène Le Men, La bibliothèque de Monet, exh. cat. (Citadelles & Mazenod, 2013), p. 244. The possible influence of Flaubert’s account of Brittany on Monet’s painting campaign is first cited in Denise Delouche, “Monet et Belle-Ile en 1886,” Bulletin des amis du Musée de Rennes 4 (1980), p. 28. See also Steven Z. Levine, “Seascapes of the Sublime: Vernet, Monet, and the Oceanic Feeling,” New Literary History 16, 2 (1985), pp. 377–78. Flaubert’s Par les champs et par les grèves was first published in its entirety in 1885 by A. Quantin in Oeuvres complètes de Flaubert and then republished separately by Charpentier.
See Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 275, letters 676–79.
Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), pp. 213–14, citing Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 275, letters 676–678 and 684; 276, letter 685; 277, letter 690; 278, letter 699.
Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, or The Triumph of Impressionism, cat. rais., vol. 1 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 222. At this time a steamboat connected Port Maria in Quiberon to Belle-Île. See Karl Baedeker, Northern France, from Belgium and the English Channel to the Loire, excluding Paris and Its Environs, Handbook for Travellers (Karl Baedeker, 1889), p. 233, which mentions that a steamboat left from Port Maria twice a day for Belle-Île-en-Mer, a ten-mile journey taking one hour.
See Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, or The Triumph of Impressionism, cat. rais., vol. 1 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 222; and Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 276, letter 685.
Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995),p. 213, citing Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 50–52; 276, letters 686–87. Belle-Île was famous for inlets. These indentations, referred to as ports, cut into the cliff face. Gustave Geffroy noted that “Each of these indentations . . . is given the name of port in the language of the Island. Yet very few are actually used to harbor boats. Only Port-Goulphar . . . offers the necessary depth and safety.” See Gustave Geffroy, Pays d’ouest, ed. Eugéne Fasquelle (Charpentier, 1897), p. 254, translated in Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 414.
See Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 276, letter 686. Monet mentioned to Alice that he has the house mostly to himself, except for the mice and rats that scurry around. Monet to Alice Hoschedé, Sept. 17, 1886 (original French on p. 276, letter 687). See also Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, or The Triumph of Impressionism, cat. rais., vol. 1 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 222–24.
The Belle-Île campaign included thirty-eight paintings, which Monet “elaborated on the spot and later back home at Giverny.” See Steven Z. Levine, “Seascapes of the Sublime: Vernet, Monet, and the Oceanic Feeling,” New Literary History 16, 2 (1985), p. 378. According to Charles Stuckey, Monet returned to Giverny with around forty paintings; see Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), p. 214. 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).
There are differing opinions on the assistance Monet received while at Belle-Île. Monet first mentions hiring an old sailor in a letter dated September 22 (letter 691), but two days later mentioned that he was now without a porter (Sept. 24, letter 692). A few weeks later, Monet again describes a porter (Oct. 12, letter 710) and mentions Poly by name in a letter dated October 17 (letter 714). See Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 277, letters 691 and 692; 280, letter 710; 281–82, letter 714. According to Charles Stuckey, this indicates that Monet worked with two different porters: the porter mentioned at the end of September quit, after which Monet hired a second porter, Poly; see Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), p. 213. On the other hand, Wildenstein argues that the description Monet uses in the September 22 letter matches the general way Monet describes Poly, which suggests that Monet hired Poly at the end of September. Monet saying that he had no porter meant that Poly had only temporarily left his employ, but as the letters suggest, Poly returned. See Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 52–55. For more on Hippolyte (Poly) Guillaume, see Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, or The Triumph of Impressionism, cat. rais., vol. 1 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), pp. 222–27.
Monet to Alice Hoschedé, Sept. 14, 1886, translated in Steven Z. Levine, Monet, Narcissus, and Self-Reflection: The Modernist Myth of the Self (University of Chicago Press, 1994), p. 62; original French in Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 276, letter 686.
Monet to Durand-Ruel, Sept. 25, 1886, translated in Steven Z. Levine, Monet, Narcissus, and Self-Reflection: The Modernist Myth of the Self (University of Chicago Press, 1994), p. 62; original French in Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 277, letter 694.
Monet to Durand-Ruel, Oct. 28, 1886, translated in Steven Z. Levine, Monet, Narcissus, and Self-Reflection: The Modernist Myth of the Self (University of Chicago Press, 1994), p. 62; original French in Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 284, letter 727.
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).
For more on Monet’s complaints about the unpredictable, but usually bad, weather, see Steven Z. Levine, Monet, Narcissus, and Self-Reflection: The Modernist Myth of the Self (University of Chicago Press, 1994), pp. 61–73.
See Gustave Geffroy, Pays d’ouest, ed. Eugène Fasquelle (Charpentier, 1897), p. 254, translated in Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 421, who says, when describing the location of Port-Domois, that mentions the signal station: “Right at the southern end, between Port-Goulphar and the Talus signal, the sea has dug itself a deep entrance.” See also Lieutenants George M. Totten and Seaton Schroeder, Bay of Biscay (Government Printing Office, 1876), pp. 338–39, who describe the Talus signal station as a yellow structure that signaled ships at sea.
Monet may have had in mind Japanese prints when he conceived this birds-eye view of the rocks. Denise Delouche makes several comparisons between Japanese prints and Monet’s views of Belle-Île; see Denise Delouche, Monet à Belle-Île (Palantines, 2006), pp. 74–75. The most striking comparison is between Utagawa Hiroshige’s Satsuma Province: Bô Bay, The Two-Sword Rocks (1856), a print owned by Monet, with his own views of the needles of Port-Coton. In addition, one of the Belle-Île paintings, Lion Rock, Rocks at Belle-Île, was later acquired, along with Young Girl in the Garden at Giverny (private collection [W1207]) by Tadamasa Hayashi, a dealer of Japanese prints, in exchange for prints by Kitagawa Utamaro, Hosoda Eishi, and Utagawa Hiroshige, underscoring the artist’s interest and indeed the value he placed on these for his own collection. For more on Tadamasa Hayashi and Monet’s collection of Japanese prints, see Geneviève Aitken and Marianne Delafond, La collection d’estampes japonaises de Claude Monet à Giverny (Maison de Monet, 1980), pp. 21–22. 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).
Vieille & Troisgros were in operation from 1879 to 1883. See Stéphanie Constantin, “The Barbizon Painters: A Guide to Their Suppliers,” Studies in Conservation 46, 1 (2001), p. 63. I am grateful to Kimberley Muir, Assistant Research Conservator in the Department of Conservation, for bringing this article to my attention.
In a letter to Alice Hoschedé that Wildenstein dates October 11, Monet mentions that he is waiting for the canvases he requested from Troisgros: “L’après-midi, j’ai repeint sur de mauvaises toiles du début; mais, pour faire d’heureuses pochades, il faut des toiles pures et j’attends avec impatience celles que j’ai demandées à Troisgros” (In the afternoon, I painted over poor early paintings; but to make acceptable sketches, I need fresh canvases and I am anxiously awaiting those that I ordered from Troisgros). On October 13, Monet wrote to Alice that he had begun working because he had received the canvases he ordered. Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 280–81, letters 708 and 711.
Vieille retired by 1884, and the business was renamed Troisgros Frères. See Stéphanie Constantin, “The Barbizon Painters: A Guide to Their Suppliers,” Studies in Conservation 46, 1 (2001), pp. 53, 63. I am grateful to Kimberley Muir, Assistant Research Conservator in the Department of Conservation, for bringing this article to my attention.
See Technical Report. Throughout his Belle-Île campaign, Monet continually reworked his compositions. For this reason, he refused to send any of the works to his dealer, claiming that he needed to reassess the effect of the group back in his Giverny studio. See Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), p. 214. In a letter to Durand-Ruel dated November 9, Monet says that “Nothing is finished and you know very well that I can’t really judge what I’ve done until I look over it again at home . . . I’ll have a lot to do once I get back to Giverny.” Translated in Richard Kendall, ed., Monet by Himself: Paintings, Drawings, Pastels, Letters, trans. Bridget Strevens Romer (Macdonald Orbis, 1989), p. 122; in Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 287–88, letter 741.
For Monet this is the word most associated with Belle-Île and one that he repeats in his letters to his companion Alice but also to his friends, as a more personal response encompassing both terror and fatigue—the two senses of the word provided by Larousse (1886): “Terrible adj. (lat. terribilis; de terrere, épouvanter). Qui cause de la terreur. Fig. Étrange, extraordinaire: vent, bruit terrible; importun, fatigant: c’est un terrible homme.” Pierre Larousse, Nouveau dictionnaire de la langue française, quatre dictionnaires en un seul, 66th ed., illustrated and enlarged (Larousse & Boyer Réunies, 1886), p. 753. Out of the at least seventy-six letters sent by Monet during his time in Belle-Île, twenty-three of them include the word “terrible(s)” or “terriblement.” Most often it is used to complain about the terrible weather. However, Monet also uses “terrible” to describe the sea, the rocks, and the countryside in a letter to Alice: “Je trouve le pays superbe, même en dehors de ses terribles rochers et de la mer sauvage” (I find the country beautiful, even apart from its terrible rocks and wild sea); in a letter to Gustave Caillebotte: “un amoncellement de rochers terrible et une mer invraisemblable de couleurs” (a mass of terrible rocks and an implausible sea of colors); and in a letter to Berthe Morisot: “Je suis ici depuis près de deux mois, un pays terrible, sinistre, mais très beaux, qui m’vait peu séduit au premier moment, mais l’océan est si beau que je me suis embarqué dans une quantité d’études et plus je vais, plus je suis émerveillé; mais quel terrible temps!” (I have been here almost two months, a terrible country, sinister, but very beautiful, which had little seduced me at first, but the ocean is so beautiful that I embarked on a number of studies and the more I go, the more I am amazed, but what terrible weather!). See Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, Peintures, 1882–1886 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), pp. 277, letter 692; 280, letter 709; 286, letter 733.
“Ce sera une face nouvelle de son talent: un Monet terrible, formidable, qu’on ne connaissait pas encore. Mais ses oeuvres plairont moins que jamais aux bourgeois,” in Octave Mirbeau, Correspondance avec Auguste Rodin, ed. Pierre Michel and Jean-François Nivet (Lérot, 1988), p. 59; translated in Charles F. Stuckey, with the assistance of Sophia Shaw, Claude Monet, 1840–1926, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago/Thames & Hudson, 1995), p. 214.
The Art Institute’s Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare (cat. 16) and Bordighera (cat. 20) were also exhibited at the 6e exposition internationale de peinture et de sculpture but were not included in the catalogue (“hors catalogue”).
Gustave Geffroy, “Salon de 1887. Hors du salon: Claude Monet,” La justice, pt. 2 (June 2, 1887), p. 1, translated by Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 3, Nos. 969–1595 (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 414. Geffroy, perhaps channeling Monet’s own language, uses Monet’s favorite term to introduce his own discussion of the Belle-Île paintings exhibited at the 6e Exposition internationale de peinture et de sculpture: “Pour la premiere fois, la terrible mer de là-bas a trouvé son historien” (For the first time, the terrible sea out there has found its historian), see Gustave Geffroy, “Salon de 1887. Hors du salon: Claude Monet,” La justice, pt. 2 (June 2, 1887), p. 1.
Denise Delouche, Monet à Belle-Île (Palantines, 2006), p. 67.
“Après Belle-Ile terrible, ça va être du tendre; ce n’est ici que du bleu, du rose et de l’or, mais quelle difficulté, bon Dieu!” Monet to Duret, Mar. 10, 1888, translated in Steven Z. Levine, Monet, Narcissus, and Self-Reflection: The Modernist Myth of the Self (University of Chicago Press, 1994), p. 76; original French in Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 3, Peintures, 1887–1898 (Bibliothèque des Arts, 1979), p. 232, letter 855.
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 signature contains vermilion, viridian, and red lake; iron oxides may also be present. See Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Rocks_64_210_XRF_Results,” Nov. 8, 2010, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
As observed in several other Monet paintings in the Art Institute collection, the corners and edges of his canvases were often left in a somewhat sketchy state with areas of exposed ground. Monet often added a few strokes to the edges just before signing the work. As his stepson J.-P. Hoschedé noted, Monet “signed his pictures and painted the edges of his canvases which he tended not to paint right up to their margins.” Quoted in John House, Monet: Nature into Art (Yale University Press, 1988), p. 171.
Flax was confirmed by microscopic cross-sectional fiber identification. See Inge Fiedler, “1964_210_Monet_Analytical_Report,” June 12, 2014, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
See, for example, 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 (National Gallery, London/Yale University Press, 1990), p. 46, fig. 31. The original dimensions 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 of 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, Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île (W1095/1964.210),” Oct. 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, 1025, 1095,” 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 examination record of auxiliary support, n.d., on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
The presence of a sizing layer is difficult to determine from cross sections due to previous conservation treatments, including wax-resin lining.
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, “1964_210_Monet_analytical_report,” June 12, 2014; and Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Rocks_64_210_XRF_Results,” Nov. 8, 2010, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
The paint occurs consistently at approximately 2 cm from the top edge of the canvas.
The pigments were identified by the following methods: lead white, cadmium yellow, vermilion, emerald green, viridian, cobalt blue (PLM, XRF); chrome yellow, red lake, ultramarine blue (PLM). Analysis was carried out on selected areas and may not include all pigments present in the painting. Paint scraping samples taken in 1974 were reexamined by PLM in 2013. For more detailed results and conditions used, see Inge Fiedler, “1964_210_Monet_analytical_report,” June 12, 2014; Inge Fiedler, “Monet_1964_210_PLM_results,” Nov. 27, 2013; Kimberley Muir, “Mon_Rocks_64_210_XRF_Results,” Nov. 8, 2010, 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.
See Alfred Jakstas, treatment report, Aug. 20, 1974, on file in the Conservation Department, Art Institute of Chicago.
A note in the conservation file indicates that the painting received a new frame for the August Collector’s Show, May 30, 1969. See Alfred Jakstas, treatment report, Aug. 20, 1974, 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. 2542): “Purchased from Monet by DR Paris on 21 December 1892, for 4 500 F / Stock no. 2542, photo no. 592,” 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 Paris and New York Durand-Ruel stock books record different dates for the sale. The Paris stock book for 1891–1901 (no. 2542) states: “Sold to DR New York (stock 2542) on 19 December 1895.” The New York stock book for 1894–1905 (no. 1515, as Belle Isle) states: “Purchased by DR New York on 4 January 1896 as Belle Isle / Stock NY no.1515.” 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, stock book for 1894–1905 (no. 1515): “Sold (stock 1515) to Mrs J. J. Borland on 6 March 1897 for $ 2 000,” 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 painting was given to the Art Institute of Chicago in undivided fractional interests beginning in 1964. The Art Institute received the final fractional interest for one hundred percent ownership in 1973.
According to the Durand-Ruel Archives, this exhibition was recorded in their book of daily gallery activity; Durand-Ruel, Brouillard, July 20, 1895. 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. For the exhibition dates, see Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue raisonné/Werkverzeichnis, vol. 4, Nos. 1596–1983 et les grandes décorations (Taschen/Wildenstein Institute, 1996), p. 1017.
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. 87; 120, cat. 59 (ill.).
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.
The label was located on the pre-1974 treatment stretcher (discarded); preserved in conservation file, Art Institute of Chicago.
The stretcher dates to the 1974 conservation treatment (see Conservation History).
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, “Cat. 24 Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île, 1886,” 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/10.53269/9780865592698/20.

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