Étretat par-delà les falaises: Courbet, Monet, Matisse

Abstract

During the 19th century, a peaceful fishing village on the Normandy coast transformed into a legend: Étretat. Discovered by Romantic painters, this spectacular site captivated artists from all over Europe with its dizzying cliffs sculpted by the sea, its ever-changing play of light, and its resort atmosphere far from the hustle and bustle of Paris. In this magnificent natural setting, painters and writers devoted themselves to studying the landscape. Gustave Courbet captured the tumult of the waves in powerful canvases. Claude Monet, captivated by the variations in light, conceived entire series of paintings around a single motif for the first time, initiating a revolution in perception and representation. This book traces the vibrant history of Étretat as a cradle of artistic modernity. Its still-preserved natural beauty and creative effervescence nourished painters and photographers in their quest for light. Even today, the works created on this shore continue to inspire wonder and nostalgia for a coastline now under threat.

Contents

Prêteurs et remerciements -- Avant-propos / Sylvie Ramond, Philip Demandt -- Introduction / Stéphane Paccoud, Isolde Pludermacher, Alexander Eiling -- Eugène Isabey / Stéphane Paccoud -- Eugène Delacroix / Stéphane Paccoud -- Apprivoiser le monstre. Peindre Étretat au XIXᵉ siècle / Pierre Wat -- Johann Wilhelm Schirmer / Eva-Maria Hollerer -- Anselm Feuerbach / Nelly Janotka -- Camille Corot / Stéphane Paccoud -- Artistes et pêcheurs. Une confrontation des mondes à Étretat / Marie-Hélène Desjardins -- Hugues Merle / Michaël Vottero -- Baigneurs, villégiateurs et touristes du XIXᵉ siècle / Sylvain Venayre -- La photographie à Étretat. Une histoire parallèle / Sylvie Aubenas -- La falaise et la vague. Gustave Courbet, un "alchimiste lapidaire" à Étretat / Isolde Pludermacher -- La Trombe / Naïs Lefrançois -- Monet et Étretat / Alexander Eiling -- Sophie Schaeppi / Eva-Maria Hollerer -- Henri Matisse à Étretat, été 1920 / Anne Théry -- Maupassant et Flaubert. Les falaises d'Étretat entrent en littérature / Yvan Leclerc -- Lettre de Guy de Maupassant à Gustave Flaubert, 3 novembre 1877 -- Elger Esser / Nelly Janotka -- Chronologie / Nelly Janotka, Lucie Passilly -- Bibliographie -- Crédits -- Crédits patrimoniaux et photographiques.