Old Masters and 19th Century Art

Provenance:

The Hon. Mrs. Reginald Fellowes.

Thence by descent.

Christie's, London, sale of June 13, 1997, lot 121.

Acquired directly from the above sale.

Literature:

Piero Dini, Francesca Dini, Boldini Catalogo ragionato, Vol. I & III, Turin 2002, no. 304, pp. 169; 174.

Lot Note:

The present work dates from Giovanni Boldini’s formative French period in the late 1870s, when he divided his time between Paris and the Normandy coast. It depicts the rocky beach of Étretat, the picturesque seaside town celebrated for its dramatic cliffs and vibrant fishing port, long favored by artists from Courbet to Monet.

Likely painted around 1879, this rare Normandy view closely echoes the larger and more finished composition now in the collection of the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. It marks a transitional moment in Boldini’s career, preceding his rise to international fame as a portraitist of Belle Époque society. In Étretat, the artist found an ideal setting to experiment with plein-air painting and contemporary coastal subjects, translating the vitality of modern life into swift, luminous brushwork, as evidenced here. Tramonto con Pescatori is among the few securely documented works from this period and demonstrates Boldini’s remarkable command of atmosphere, movement, and light—the glowing sunset in the distance subtly recalling Monet’s Impression, Soleil Levant (1872–1873), by another frequent visitor to Étretat.