FR EN
1 / 6
an image of a painting of a woman walking in a gardenan oil painting of a woman walking down a path with an umbrellaan oil painting of a woman walking down a path in front of a housean old picture frame with a piece of paper hanging from it ' s sidea painting of a woman and a child in a gardena white sculpture in a room with a painting on the wall
Premium Artcurial

Estimate €200,000 - €300,000
Sale commission
Description
Berthe MORISOT La Roche Plate at Le Portrieux – 1894 Oil on canvas 41 x 33 cm Provenance: The artist’s studio Collection of her daughter Julie Manet (1878–1966), wife of Ernest Rouart (according to a label on the reverse) Auction, Paris, Beaussant Lefèvre & Associés, 3 June 2022, lot 10 Acquired at this auction by the current owner Louis Grandchamp des Raux Collection Exhibitions: Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Berthe Morisot (Madame Eugène Manet), with a photogravure portrait after Édouard Manet, Preface by Stéphane Mallarmé, Exhibition of her work, March 1896, no. 138, p. 26 Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Exhibition of works by Berthe Morisot: in aid of the ‘Amis du Luxembourg’, May 1929, no. 101 (according to a label on the reverse) Paris, Musée de l’Orangerie, Berthe Morisot (1841–1895), Summer 1941, preface by Paul Valéry, no. 114, p. 24 (according to a label on the reverse) Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, Berthe Morisot, 1961, no. 99 (according to a label on the reverse) Vevey, Musée Jenisch, Berthe Morisot, June–September 1961, no. 82 Turin, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Berthe Morisot, October 2024 – March 2025, no. 39, reproduced on pp. 132–133 Bibliography: M. Angoulvent, Berthe Morisot, Editions Albert Morancé, Paris, 1933, no. 615, p. 149 (titled *Jeannie and Julie at Le Portrieux, in the garden of La Roche Plate* (1894)) M.-L. Bataille, G. Wildenstein, Berthe Morisot, Catalogue of Paintings, Pastels and Watercolours, Les Beaux-Arts, Collection l’Art Français, Paris, 1961, no. 392, p. 49, reproduced in black and white, fig. 382 A. Clairet, D. Montalant and Y. Rouart, Berthe Morisot 1841–1895 – Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Collection Le Catalogue – CÉRA-nrs éditions, Montolivet, 1997, no. 397, reproduced in black and white on p. 307 La Gazette Drouot, no. 18, 6 May 2022, reproduced in colour on p. 21 La Gazette Drouot, no. 21, 27 May 2022, reproduced in colour on p. 44 Oil on canvas; 16 1/8 x 13 in. In a letter to Stéphane Mallarmé, Berthe Morisot recounts that it was upon seeing posters advertising Brittany at Saint-Lazare station that she decided to reconnect with her childhood memories and spend her holidays there at the end of the summer of 1894. She then rented *La Roche plate* in Saint-Quay-Portrieux, in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, a spacious house where she settled with her daughter Julie and her nieces Paule and Jeannie. In this letter inviting Mallarmé to join her, she explains the reasons for choosing this holiday destination: ‘We decided to go to Brittany simply by looking at the little posters in the waiting room at Saint-Lazare station… My nieces are with me; we are walking along the shore and through the open countryside, and everything would be delightful if the place were not so lovely, constantly tempting me to paint it.¹” She also invites Pierre-Auguste Renoir to come and visit her, but he is unable to accept the invitation; he offers her kind encouragement: “Bring back some of those lovely seascapes, so beautiful in Brittany, with the water so clear right up to the shore, and your Julies in white against a backdrop of golden islands”. Before her, Eugène Boudin had already set up his easel on this beach in 1868, followed by Paul Signac twenty years later. Berthe Morisot (fig. 1), for her part, painted views of the bay and the countryside brought to life by models wearing Breton headdresses, portraits of young Breton women, and views of the garden at her home. This work forms part of a small series of canvases painted at Portrieux, which allowed her to return to the garden motif. In this view of La Roche Plate, two young women wearing large Breton headdresses, as in *La Falaise au Portrieux*² (fig. 2), are chatting in the middle of a path. According to Monique Angoulvent, these are believed to be his niece Jeannie and his daughter Julie. Behind them stands the house, its roof rising above the flower-filled garden. This lush vegetation provides a natural setting for their conversation and a subject of great chromatic richness. Painted a year before the artist’s death, this work reflects her late style. The elongated, free-flowing Impressionist brushstrokes contrast with the vigour of her early paintings. It bears witness to a practice now informed by drawing and the pursuit of a subtle harmony between line and colour. The influence of Renoir, with whom Morisot had formed a particularly close bond during the last decade of her life, is also evident in this work in the softness of the contours and the luminous sensuality of the paint. Preserved by her only daughter, Julie Manet, the work served as a precious memento of her mother’s final years and rekindled happy memories of that stay in Brittany (fig. 3). 1. Letter from Berthe Morisot to Stéphane Mallarmé, 1894, quoted in *Mallarmé – Morisot: Correspondence 1876–1895*, letters compiled and annotated by Olivier Daulte and Manuel Dupertuis, Lausanne, La Bibliothèque des Arts, 1995. 2. Auction, London, Christie’s, 25 June 1998, lot no. 150, or auction, New York, Sotheby’s, 3 November 2011, lot no. 216. Fig. 1: Berthe Morisot, Self-Portrait, 1885, oil on canvas, Paris, Musée Marmottan Monet Fig. 2: Berthe Morisot, On the Cliff at Le Portrieux, 1894, oil on canvas, private collection Fig. 3: Berthe Morisot, On the Beach at Le Portrieux, 1894, oil on canvas Berthe MORISOT 41 x 33 cm In a letter addressed to Stéphane Mallarmé, Berthe Morisot wrote that it was upon seeing posters advertising Brittany at Gare Saint-Lazare that she decided to revisit her childhood memories and spend her holiday there at the end of the summer of 1894. She rented ‘La Roche Plate’ in Saint-Quay-Portrieux, in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, a spacious house where she settled with her daughter Julie and her nieces Paule and Jeannie. In this letter inviting Mallarmé to join her, she explains why she chose this holiday destination: “We decided to go to Brittany simply by looking at the little posters in the waiting room at Gare Saint-Lazare… My nieces are with me; we walk along the shore, in the open countryside, and everything would be delightful were it not for the fact that this place is so pretty, constantly tempting me to paint it 1.” She also invites Pierre-Auguste Renoir to come and visit her, but he is unable to accept the invitation. He encourages her to: “Bring back some of those lovely views of the sea, so beautiful in Brittany, with that clear water right up to the shore, and your Julies in white against a backdrop of golden islands.” Long before her, Eugène Boudin had already set up his easel on that very same beach in 1868, as Paul Signac would do twenty years later. As for Berthe Morisot (ill. 1), she painted views of the bay and the countryside brought to life by figures wearing the Breton headdress, portraits of young Breton girls and views of the garden. This work is part of a small series of canvases painted at Portrieux, which enabled her to return to the subject of the garden. In this view of La Roche Plate, two young women wearing large Breton headdresses, as in *La Falaise au Portrieux*² (ill. 2), are chatting in the middle of a path. According to Monique Angoulvent, they appear to be Morisot’s niece Jeannie and her daughter Julie. Standing out behind them is the house, whose roof rises from a garden brimming with flowers. The lush vegetation provides both a natural backdrop for this conversation and a subject rich in colour. Painted one year before the artist’s death, this work exemplifies her late style, in which the elongated Impressionist brushstroke is particularly vigorous and free. The painting demonstrates a way of working now enriched by drawing and the pursuit of a subtle harmony between line and colour. The influence of Renoir, with whom Morisot was particularly close during the last decade of her life, is also evident in this work in the softness of the contours and the luminous sensuality of the paint. Kept by her only daughter, Julie Manet, the work was for her a precious memento of her mother’s final years and brought back happy memories of that stay in Brittany (ill. 3). 1. Letter from Berthe Morisot to Stéphane Mallarmé, 1894, quoted in *Mallarmé – Morisot: Correspondence 1876–1895*, letters compiled and annotated by Olivier Daulte and Manuel Dupertuis, Lausanne, La Bibliothèque des Arts, 1995. 2. London auction, Christie’s, 25 June 1998, lot no. 150, or New York auction, Sotheby’s, 3 November 2011, lot no. 216. Fig. 1: Berthe Morisot, Self-Portrait, 1885, oil on canvas, Paris, Musée Marmottan Monet Fig. 2: Berthe Morisot, On the Cliff at Portrieux, 1894, oil on canvas, private collection Fig. 3: Berthe Morisot, On the Beach at Portrieux, 1894, oil on canvas
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale The Louis Grandchamp des Raux Collection
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 4:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like