Gustave Courbet (French, 1819-1877)
Lot 25 THE PROPERTY OF AN IMPORTANT ENGLISH PRIVATE COLLECTOR

Gustave Courbet (French, 1819-1877)

The Beach at Trouville

Closed12 June 2012

Price Realised

GBP 85,250

More Information

How to sell

Gustave Courbet (French, 1819-1877)
The Beach at Trouville
signed, dated and dedicated '65 Gustave Courbet à mon ami Nodler' (lower left)
oil on canvas
19¼ x 25 5/8 in. (48.9 x 65.1 cm.)

with the London Gallery, London.
The Edward James Foundation, Worthing, West Sussex, circa 1937.
Private collection, England.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 27 October 1982, lot 66.
Anonymous sale; Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, LA, 18 April 2009, lot 290.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note

This painting is one of a number of coastal scenes executed by Courbet at Trouville in Normandy, in the summer of 1865, and one of two such paintings dedicated to the artist's friend and patron Nodler (see also R. Fernier, La vie et l'oeuvre de Gustave Courbet, 1977, vol. 1, no. 511). Nodler also commissioned two portraits of his sons from the artist in 1866 (op. cit, nos. 540 and 541).

In a letter dated 10 April 2012, J. Fernier points out the anthropomorphic nature of the rock in the foreground, stressing that this is one of the earliest instances of a device that Courbet would use throughout his later career when painting rock formations.

This work is sold with a letter by Jean-Jacques Fernier dated 10 April 2012 confirming that it will be included in his supplement to the Courbet catalogue raisonné.