Gustave Courbet

Gillet Collection, Lyon
Pierre Granville, Paris 
Arthur Tooth and Sons, London (by 1959)
Crane Kalman Gallery, London
Acquired by the family of the present owner from the above in 1962; thence by descent

London, Arthur Tooth and Sons, Recent Acquisitions, 1960, no. 3
London, Crane Kalman Gallery, The Sea, 1962, no. 1

Robert Fernier, La vie et l'oeuvre de Gustave Courbet. Catalogue raisonné, Geneva, 1978, vol. II, p. 82, no. 687, catalogued & illustrated

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. Structural Condition The canvas has been lined and this is providing a stable and secure structural support. There are some fine lines of craquelure and also slight unevenness (in the upper right corner) but these are all stable and not visually distracting. Paint surface The paint surface has an even but slightly discoloured varnish layer. There is one tiny paint loss in the lower left corner. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a number of small retouchings, the majority of which are clearly excessive and if removed would be found to be at least partially unnecessary. These are predominately in the sky, in the upper horizontal framing edge, and one area on and around the pale pigment of a wave in the centre of the composition. Summary The painting therefore appears to be in good and stable condition and the number of retouchings could be reduced if required and the varnish layers removed and replaced.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Courbet loved the sea, which he first discovered in 1854 when staying with his friend Alfred Bruyas in Montpellier. But it was with his trips to Trouville from 1865 and to Etretat in 1869 that his marine paintings took on the importance they now occupy in his oeuvre.

André Fermigier and Klaus Herding make the analogy between the sea as painted by Courbet, and the cliffs of his native Ornans: solid, green or grey, striated with reds and ocres, the immutable sea takes on an almost earthy dimension.

Embracing the sea as he had the rocks and hills of Ornans in his youth, the sea in his paintings of the '60s is no longer a distant presence as in his early Mediterranean pictures, lapping gently against a flat beach, but very close and immediate. The sea rises into a solid, rocky crest, at the very forefront of the picture plane, startling and absorbing the viewer.

La Vague has all the hallmarks of Courbet's Ornans landscapes, transposed to the sea. The rolling wave unfurls, forming a grotto or cave comparable to the source of the Loue (lot 322), its substance accentuated by the thick impastos applied with a palette knife. 

The sense of stasis and monumentality central to Courbet's wave paintings may well be attributed to the advent of photography. The fugitive moment becomes an eternal one, no more masterfully than in the present work.

Courbet's wave paintings epitomise everything that is original in his artistic expression. His first-hand observations are enriched through his memory and his interest in photography, but above all by his inner vision: 'Everything he sees,' remarks André Fermigier, 'he sees from the inside' (quoted in Gustave Courbet, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Grand Palais, 2007, p. 291).