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Blanche Hoschedé-Monet (French, 1865–1947)
See original version (French)
321
-
Blanche Hoschedé-Monet (French, 1865–1947)
See original version (French)
Estimate €15,000 - €30,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Blanche Hoschedé-Monet (French, 1865–1947)
The Poplars
Canvas.
Handwritten inscription ‘Claude Monet’ on the reverse. Blue chalk numbering. Mark on the stretcher bar from the paint and canvas dealer “Rey & Cie Paris”.
Height 46, Width 54 cm.
Damage, losses and restoration.
Provenance:
- gifted to Claude Monet’s cook, Marguerite Lavenue, née Pasquier (1895–1985);
- passed on to Mr Jean-François Lavenue, her son;
- private collection, Châteauroux.
Mr Philippe Piguet has confirmed the authenticity of this work and drawn up a certificate dated 4 September 2026, which will be issued to the purchaser. The work will be included in the catalogue raisonné currently being prepared under the reference ‘BHM 69-1’.
Enclosures: A collection of documents, including correspondence between Blanche Hoschedé-Monet and Jean-François Lavenue dated 5 February 1945 (?), 3 January and 1 October 1946.
MEMORIES OF MONET’S COOK
The daughter of Ernest Hoschedé (1837–1891), a patron of Claude Monet, Blanche was both his model and his pupil. She began her training in painting under him in 1876. ‘Look at nature and paint what you see, as best you can’ were the master’s kind words to Blanche. She would follow this advice throughout her career as a painter.
Claude and Blanche transcended the landscapes in which streams and trees became their favourite subjects. This painting is therefore reminiscent of Monet’s composition *Sous les Peupliers, effet de soleil* (Under the Poplars, Sunlight Effect) dated 1887 (in Daniel Wildenstein, *Claude Monet catalogue raisonné*, Cologne, Taschen, vol. III, p. 430, no. 1135). The three trees on the right do indeed share an obvious similarity in their depiction. Blanche, however, eschews any human figures, unlike her master, who captured, from life, the portrait of Suzanne—his pupil’s sister—holding a parasol.
Our painting bears witness to the relationships amongst the members of the “Monet clan”. Having become the painter’s daughter-in-law in 1892, when her mother Alice married him, Blanche further strengthened these ties in 1897 by marrying Jean, Monet’s eldest son. This painting also bears witness to the loyalty and relationships of trust that the Monets maintained with the men and women of Giverny who worked in their service, such as Marguerite and Paul Lavenue.
Marguerite, née Pasquier, began working for the Monets as a maid around 1917 (Madame Robert Piguet, Affidavit, 28 January 1974). She began learning to cook under Mélanie Le Ray, who was in their service from 1915 to 1919. At the end of the First World War, Marguerite left Giverny (Jean-François Lavenue, handwritten document). She married Paul Lavenue (1890–1965) in April 1921. The couple purchased ‘La Beauchette’ around June 1922. Blanche Hoschedé-Monet (1865–1947) suggested they return to Giverny. To ensure Marguerite’s return, Claude Monet is said to have offered to act as guarantor for the loan the Lavenues had taken out. They returned to work for the master in 1922 (Piguet, op. cit.) or in 1923 (Lavenue, op. cit.). Marguerite then became Claude Monet’s last cook, whilst Paul was employed as a domestic servant. She appears to have shown a certain talent, preparing marinades as well as devising sauces and other American dishes on the occasion of visits by the painter Théodore Butler (see Claire Joyes, “Monet at Giverny”, p. 31). The couple left again in March 1925, returning after Monet’s death (Piguet and Lavenue, op. cit.). A photograph signed by the painter and from the same collection is also featured in this sale. It is inscribed: ‘To Marguerite Lavenue, a memento from a gourmet’. Their son, Jean-François Lavenue, was born on 25 April 1925. Blanche Hoschedé-Monet was his godmother. The Lavenues appear to have returned to Giverny in 1927, not leaving for good until 1940.
Brice Langlois
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
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