Bidspirit auction | MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) ´ ...every

MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) ´ ...every day I have to start afresh; it is rare that I can return to the same canvases...´ - MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) French Impressionist painter. An excellent A.L.S., Claude Monet , four pages, 8vo, Sandviken (Bergen, Vestland, Norway), 10th March 1895, to Alice Hoschedé ( ´Ma bonne chérie´ ), in French. Monet writes an informative letter home to his wife, commencing by thanking her for having attended the funeral of Berthe Morisot, ´Oui, je te remercie d´être allée au service de la pauvre morte, mais je suis au regret de ne l´avoir pas vue une dernière fois avant mon départ, et c´est un grand chagrin de penser qu´elle n´est plus; elle était si intelligente, avait tant de talent, je ne cesse d´y penser, et, si je n´avais pas le travail qui m´attire, je serais revenu´ (Translation: ´Yes, thank you for attending the poor deceased woman’s funeral, but I regret not having seen her one last time before my departure, and it is a great sorrow to think that she is no longer with us; she was so intelligent, had so much talent, I cannot stop thinking about it, and, if I did not have the work that draws me here, I would have returned´ ), adding that Alice´s letter of 6th March (written on the day of the funeral) had saddened him, remarking ´J´ai peur pour toi que ce voyage, ces émotions ne te fassent mal. Ne manque pas de me bien dire comment tu vas, cela me tourmente; surtout pas d´imprudence et repose-toi´ (Translation: ´I’m worried for you that this journey and all these emotions might be taking their toll on you. Do be sure to let me know how you’re getting on; it’s weighing heavily on my mind. Above all, don’t be reckless and get plenty of rest´ ) and urging her not to worry about his own health, or that of her son Jacques, ´tu n´as pas d´inquiétude à avoir de ma santé, je vais on ne peut mieux, ainsi que Jacques; je suis du reste dans mon élément et ne m´aperçois même pas du froid. Jacques aussi est très bien, pendant que je travaille, il pioche son norvégien, il s´est construit une maison en neige pour être à l´abri´ (Translation: ´You needn’t worry about my health—I’m in the best of health, as is Jacques; besides, I’m in my element here and don’t even notice the cold. Jacques is also doing very well; whilst I’m working, he’s pottering about in his Norwegian, and he’s built himself a snow house to keep out of the cold´ ). Monet also expresses concern at news of his stepdaughter, ´Ce que tu me dis de Suzanne est navrant, il faudra absolument avoir l´opinion d´un spécialiste, mais je persiste à penser que la venue du beau temps sera le meilleur remède. Ne te désespère pas te prends courage´ (Translation: ´What you tell me about Suzanne is heartbreaking; we must absolutely seek a specialist’s opinion, but I still believe that the arrival of fine weather will be the best remedy. Don’t despair; take heart´ ) before returning his thoughts to Morisot, ´J´ai écrit à Renoir hier soir, pensant bien à la douleur qu´il a dû éprouver, et puis pour nous remonter un peu mutuellement, car c´est vraiment bien bien triste, bien dur de voir tous ses amis partir si tôt. De notre petit groupe, combien reston-nous, hélas?´ (Translation: ´I wrote to Renoir last night, thinking of the pain he must have felt, and also to cheer each other up a little, for it is truly very, very sad, very hard to see all one’s friends leaving so soon. Of our little group, how many of us remain, alas?´ ). The artist continues to write in regards to his work and future plans, explaining that he had received a note from Gustave Geffroy that morning, ´Je l´avais chargé, en effet, de voir Durand pour savoir si, au cas où le travail ici marcherait bien, je pourrais n´ouvrir mon exposition que vers le 10 ou le 15 mai, cela me donnerait un peu plus de temps; je croyais te l´avoir dit dans une de mes lettres. Bref, puisque c´est possible, je me donne jusqu´à la fin de mars, si toutefois le temps le permit. Je travaille à force et serais très content si le temps n´était pas si variable, car chaque jour il me faut recommencer, c´est rare quand je puis retravailler aux mêmes toiles. Hier brume et neige; aujourd´hui, après avoir travaillé ce matin, voilà la neige qui retombe terriblement; il est 2 heures, l´heure du dîner, j´espère cependant pouvoir travailler à 3 heures´ (Translation: ´I had, in fact, asked him to speak to Durand to find out whether, should things go well here, I might be able to open my exhibition only around 10 or 15 May; that would give me a little more time; I thought I’d mentioned it to you in one of my letters. In short, since it’s possible, I’m giving myself until the end of March, weather permitting. I am working hard and would be very happy if the weather were not so changeable, for every day I have to start afresh; it is rare that I can return to the same canvases. Yesterday, mist and snow; today, after working this morning, here comes the snow falling heavily once more; it is 2 o’clock, lunchtime,