Bidspirit auction | MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) ´ it´s

MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) ´ it´s up to whoever wants to see my paintings, and I greatly fear their astonishment´ - MONET CLAUDE: (1840-1926) French Impressionist painter. A fine, lengthy A.L.S., Ton vieux Monet qui t´aime ( ´Your old Monet who loves you´ ), six pages, 8vo, Sandviken (Bergen, Vestland, Norway), 23rd [March 1895 ; incorrectly dated lundi matin by Monet, and actually written on a Saturday], to Alice Hoschedé, in French. Monet commences his letter by stating that he has just sent his wife a telegram, and hopes that he will receive a reply, further expressing his concern, as, having read her letter that morning, as well as Blanche´s the day before, he can see ´que te voilà de nouveau sérieusement prise et je m´en inquiète, et m´attriste d´autant plus que, depuis deux jours, je ne t´ai pas écrit aussi régulièrement et que mes lettres vont te manquer juste au moment où tu en aurais le plus besoin´ (Translation: ´that you are once again seriously preoccupied, and this worries me; it saddens me all the more because, for the past two days, I have not written to you as regularly as I should, and you will miss my letters just when you need them most´ ), explaining ´Si j´ai manqué de t´écrire, c´est que, ne pouvant travailler que de 3 à 7 heures à un seul endroit, j´ai profité de mes matinées pour aller à Christiania faire différentes courses et pour prendre des renseignements sur les différentes voies que je pourrais prendre pour revenir, et je ne suis du reste pas encore fixé; ta dépêche me fera hâter ou non le départ très proche de toutes les façons´ (Translation: ´If I have failed to write to you, it is because, being able to work only from 3 to 7 o’clock in one place, I have used my mornings to go to Christiania to run various errands and to find out about the different routes I might take to return, and I have not yet made up my mind; your telegram will determine whether or not I hasten my departure, which is imminent in any case´ ). Monet continues to send a report of his work and a social event he had been reluctant to attend, ´Hier je n´ai rien pu faire du tout, la neige ayant repris jusqu´à ce matin même, puis il y a eu une très grande fête à Bjornegaard hier en l´honneur de la fête d´une gentille jeune fille, qui aide Mme Bjornson à diriger la maison; il y avait des invités de Christiania, dîner épatant, bal, etc. Comme depuis plusieurs jours je dînais à part et plutôt avec Jacques, Mme. Bjornson m´avait demandé pour cette fois de faire exception et prendre part à cette fête dont je sentais bien que je serais un des clous pour les invités. Et, aimable comme tu me connais, j´avais refusé, disant que le travail passait avant tout, que je ne pourrais être de ce dîner qu´en cas de mauvais temps, improbable d´après les apparences, et j´ai pu voir à la tête de chacun qu´on ne me trouvait décidément pas gracieux. Mais comme il neigeait très fort, il m´a fallu faire bonne mine à la joie de tous. Dîner très extraordinaire, toast à la jeune fille fêtée, au peintre français; j´ai pu encore cette fois éviter le speech que j´ai prié mon voisin de faire pour moi. Enfin, bal, souper, tout cela depuis 2 heures de l´après-midi jusqu´à 1 heure du matin. Il est maintenant 11 heures du matin, et les voilà qui redansent; la valse est une frénésie chez les Norvégiens. Il y avait de jolies femmes et des toilettes bizarres´ (Translation: ´Yesterday I couldn’t get anything done at all, as the snow had started again until this very morning; then there was a huge party at Bjornegaard yesterday in honour of a lovely young lady’s birthday, who helps Mrs Bjornson run the house; there were guests from Christiania, a splendid dinner, a ball, and so on. As I had been dining separately for several days, usually with Jacques, Mrs Bjornson had asked me to make an exception this time and take part in this party, where I felt I would be one of the main attractions for the guests. And, being as polite as you know me to be, I had refused, saying that work came first, that I could only attend this dinner in the event of bad weather—which seemed unlikely from the looks of things—and I could see from everyone’s expressions that they certainly did not find my behaviour gracious. But as it was snowing very heavily, I had to put on a brave face to everyone’s delight. A most extraordinary dinner, toasts to the young lady being celebrated, to the French painter; I managed once again to avoid the speech, which I had asked my neighbour to deliver on my behalf. Finally, a ball and supper, all of it from 2 o’clock in the afternoon until 1 o’clock in the morning. It is now 11 o’clock in the morning, and here they are dancing again; the waltz is a frenzy among the Norwegians. There were pretty women and some rather odd outfits´ ) and further provides Alice with news of his visits to Christiania (today Oslo), ´Comme je te l´ai dit, hier et avant-hier matin, je suis allé à Christiania; c´est aussitôt dans les journaux.