LOUIS RITTER (American, 1854-1892). Beach at Etretat, 1886. Oil on canvas. 15 x 30 inches (38.1 x 76.2 cm). Signed and d...

Description

LOUIS RITTER (American, 1854-1892)
Beach at Etretat, 1886
Oil on canvas
15 x 30 inches (38.1 x 76.2 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: Louis Ritter 1886 Etretat
Canvas supplier's stamp verso: Paul Foinet / Van Eyck / 64 rue N. D. des Champs, Paris / Toiles et Coulours Fines


PROVENANCE:
The Closson Art Galleries, Cincinnati, OH (label verso).

EXHIBITED:
Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA, "Explorations in Realism (1870-1888): Frank Duveneck and His Circle from Bavaria to Venice," April 21 - July 2, 1989.

This marvelous, moody beach scene by Louis Ritter records the choppy waters and cloud-tossed sky at Etretat in Haute-Normandie, France. This work is notable because it does not include a glimpse of the geological formations which made Etretat a celebrated artists' haunt throughout the nineteenth century: the spectacular white cliffs, three natural arches, and the pointed needle which rises from the waves near the shore. The particular feature which became a favorite motif of artistic notables including Eugene Boudin, Gustave Courbet, and Claude Monet is the profile of one of the stone arches that strongly resembles the head of an elephant with its trunk dipped into the sea. Here, even without the "elephant," Ritter has created a powerful portrait of the drama between water and sky often on display at the beaches of Normandy.



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