Henry Moret

Exhibited by Stoppenbach & Delestre

Material Oil on canvas

Dimensions 54 × 65.5 cm

Price Available upon inquiry

Status Vetted

About the Work

Henry Moret settled in Le Pouldu in 1889–1890, where Gauguin and other artists of the Pont-Aven school stayed, most often at the Auberge Marie Henry, a hostel that frequently welcomed artists. Moret had met Gauguin in 1888, during one of his first trips to the region. An independent character, the artist often painted seascapes and genre scenes. Influenced by the Synthetic style—characterised by patches of colour, bold contours, and a flattened perspective—he nevertheless continued his research into representing the Brittany landscape and scenes of everyday life. He would remain associated with depicting the region’s life and wild character.

Au retour de la pêche aux bouquets is a rare example illustrating Moret’s combination of Synthetic and Impressionist techniques. In this early work, he uses bold outlines around the figures, typical of the Synthetic style. The figures are treated decoratively in flat tones, contrasted with the surrounding green landscape painted with vertical strokes. The coast is rendered in bold brown, and the sea in navy blue, with short, Impressionist strokes, set against a vertical light-blue passage that opens onto a broad horizon. The painting is rare in that it already hints at the artist’s later marine landscapes, while remaining closely aligned with a Synthetic approach. Both landscape and genre scene, it depicts fishermen and women returning from shrimp fishing. The work may be compared to Bretonnes dans les champs (Indianapolis Museum of Art).

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