Antoine Vollon

Exhibited by Demisch Danant

Material Oil on canvas

Dimensions 38 × 55 cm

Place of Creation France

Price Available upon inquiry

Status Vetted

About the Work

Coming from the posthumous sale of Antoine Vollon’s studio in 1901, as confirmed by the signature stamp in the lower right, this painting remained in the artist’s possession until the end of his life. The landscape, dated around 1880 and described in the studio catalogue as “Green and calm sea, with small sails visible in the distance under a blue sky streaked with grey clouds," is set at Mers‑les‑Bains, near Le Tréport in Normandy. Vollon owned a house and studio there from 1863 onward, which later passed on to his son Alexis. Evoking a deeply familiar place, and borrowing color nuances and brushwork that immediately recall Eugène Boudin's depictions of light and the refinement of Édouard Manet in compositions such as The Escape of Rochefort or On the Beach, both in the Musée d’Orsay. There is no doubt that this painting remained an important source of inspiration for Vollon over the years.

Nothing is left to chance in this composition. Each flat area of color, distinguishing sea, sky, and clouds, is animated by subtle variations that convey the overall movement of the waves, the reflections on the water, and the wind pushing the sailboats. The boats, painted with the tip of the brush, punctuate the

horizon line and, like the clouds, drift across this landscape, which will soon return to the full expanse of its silent splendor.

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Provenance

Sale, Atelier of Antoine Vollon, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 20–23 May 1901, lot 9;
Private collection, France;
Sale, Oger‑Blanchet, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 16 Nov. 2023, lot 33;
Private collection, Paris.