HENRY MORET | L'Île de Groix

Kunsthaus Bühler, Stuttgart
Sale: Baron Ribeyre & Associés, Paris, July 2, 2008, lot 178
Rehs Galleries, New York
Private Collection, United States (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 10, 2016, lot 380)
Willow Gallery, London (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

The work is in very good condition. The canvas is not lined. Very fine lines of craquelure are visible under raking light. The pigments are fresh and the colors present brightly. Under UV light: there are a few very minor strokes of inpainting to the extreme edges, otherwise fine.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Henry Moret was born in 1856 in the town of Cherbourg, a strategically important port located on the Normandy coast. Typical of many families residing in Cherbourg, Moret’s father was a garrison officer and Henry followed his father’s path with a brief period of military service before becoming a professional artist. Moret’s artistic training took place at the École des Beaux-Arts, under the guidance of academic painters Jean-Léon Gérôme and Jean-Paul Laurens. This traditional academic pedigree is almost untraceable in Moret’s later work, as he embraced Impressionist and Synthetic techniques in a masterful reconciliation of two competing artistic orthodoxies to develop an artistic vocabulary of his own.

As a part of his military service Moret was stationed in Brittany in 1875 and became captivated by the rugged landscape, which also attracted other Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters. By 1888, Moret had become well-acquainted with the artists working in Pont-Aven and was heavily influenced by their experimental technique. Around the turn of the century however, Moret began to shift away from Synthetism and adopted a more Impressionistic vocabulary to depict the raw beauty of Brittany.

The present work depicts Groix, a remote island off the coast, where the rocky cliffs and expanse of the Atlantic provide a backdrop that is dramatic even by Breton standards. Dominated by ravishing shades of greens, blues and oranges, it is a beautiful example of Moret’s later output, when the development of his singular style had reached full maturity. 

This work will be included in the catalogue raisonné being prepared by Jean-Yves Rolland.