Music room - La Villa du temps retrouvé

Ernest-Ange Duez (1843-1896)
Woman on the Beach, circa 1900
Oil on canvas
Galerie Ary Jan, Paris

WOMAN ON THE BEACH • ERNEST-ANGE DUEZ

From 1877, the painter Ernest Ange Duez settled in Villerville, a small fishing village located between Trouville and Honfleur. There, he worked with his fellow students from the Beaux-Arts (Jourdain, d’Antan...), and built a glass-walled studio to paint his models in daylight. From then on, his subjects reflected his attachment to this region, often choosing his wife and family as models with the Normandy surroundings, such as the seaside, as a backdrop.

Denis Etcheverry (1867-1952)
Gust of Wind at Trouville, undated
Oil on canvas
Musée d’Orsay, Paris

GUST OF WIND AT TROUVILLE • DENIS ETCHEVERRY

In Normandy, following in the footsteps of Eugène Boudin, painters observe and sketch the high society on the tourist beaches of Trouville and Deauville.
Denis Etcheverry captures here this new way of life represented by seaside holidays; the beaches become the stage for the freedom of bodies and leisure. This beach scene captures, in a single image, the movement of the air, overturning parasols and disrupting the tranquility of the holidaymakers. This wind is also endured by the artists who, during the 19th century, left their studios to work outdoors, directly from the motif.

Édouard Vuillard (1868 – 1940)
At the Divette, Cabourg, Riverside, 1913
Distemper on paper, mounted on canvas
Private collection

AT THE DIVETTE, CABOURG, RIVERSIDE • ÉDOUARD VUILLARD

For nearly fifteen years, Édouard Vuillard enjoyed gentle summers on the Normandy coast, accompanied by his friends from the Parisian bourgeoisie.
Surrounded by loved ones, he spent entire days under the trees, reading or conversing, while appreciating the beauty of the "Côte Fleurie" (Flowery Coast). Édouard Vuillard in this way made many stays in Cabourg, where he loved to stroll near the Divette river. His desire was to preserve memories of these moments. He turned to photography, an art that fascinated him, as well as painting. These two arts captured the essence of these moments, allowed him to keep them in memory, and to rekindle sensations he thought he had forgotten. Moreover, the painter's works reveal that the resort places he cherished were, in fact, a reflection of the Parisian customs of the Belle Époque.

Édouard Vuillard (1868 – 1940)
Annette on the Beach at Villerville, 1910
Painting on paper, mounted on canvas
Private collection

ANNETTE ON THE BEACH AT VILLERVILLE • ÉDOUARD VUILLARD

A founding member of the Nabi movement (a post-impressionist movement of the late 19th century), Édouard Vuillard distinguished himself particularly in the art of portraiture, still lifes, but above all in the representation of intimate scenes, known as genre scenes. Édouard Vuillard successfully blends colors in his works, creating a gentle atmosphere, especially in his life scenes.

From the summer of 1901 to the summer of 1914, the artist joined his friends Lucie and Jos Hessel on trips to the Normandy coast, from Cabourg to Amfreville, passing through Villerville. The Norman seaside resorts reflected in his works; spontaneous testimonies of the unique atmosphere of his stays in the region. These trips, far from being a summer break, are actually a beachside reflection of Parisian customs. His paintings, capturing moments of life, reflect the gentleness of these moments. He never made his models pose: "don't move, stay just like that!" he would say. Annette is his niece, the daughter of his sister Marie and another Nabi painter, Ker Xavier Roussel (1867-1944). The child, born in 1899, often served as a model for her uncle, to whom he remained deeply attached.

Édouard Vuillard (1868 – 1940)
The Red Armchairs, 1903 – 1904
Oil on canvas
Private collection

THE RED ARMCHAIRS • ÉDOUARD VUILLARD

Édouard Vuillard's renown is largely due to his famous depictions of interior scenes. This interest in the domestic realm aligns him with the intimist movement, though he does not possess the fantastical dimension typical of symbolism.
An admirer of classics such as Vermeer, Watteau, and Chardin, Édouard Vuillard developed a taste for realistic still lifes and greatly enjoyed painting interior scenes of bourgeois homes. His work is characterized by a nuanced exploration of color palettes, a balance between light and shadow, intricately worked arabesque lines, and decorative motifs inspired by Japanese prints.

Henry Caro-Delvaille
Portrait de Madame Simone, 1908
Oil on canvas
A loan from the Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de la Ville de Strasbourg

Portrait de Madame Simone • Henry Caro-Delvaille

Henry Caro-Delvaille (1876-1928), a society portrait and genre painter, highly publicly successful in France from 1900 to 1914 and gained international recognition when he moved to New York during World War I. He was one of those portrait painters who embodied the aesthetic transition that was characteristic of the in-between of two centuries, a lost time that never truly ended. He immortalized in his paintings, at their request, the bourgeoisie of the Belle Époque (Edwardian Era).

The portrait of "Madame Simone" is of a famous actress and writer. Pauline Benda, aka Madame Simone (1877-1985), was the actress who succeeded Sarah Bernhardt in Edmond Rostand's play "L'Aiglon". The last love of Alain-Fournier, the author of "Le Grand Meaulnes", she was a friend of the cultural Tout-Paris, including Maurice Barrès, Anna de Noailles and Jean Cocteau.

Édouard Vuillard (1868 – 1940)
Blue Trees in Normandy, 1907
Pastel on paper
Private collection

BLUE TREES IN NORMANDY • ÉDOUARD VUILLARD

Illustrating in still life representations, Édouard Vuillard also delights in depicting nature in all its splendor. At the peak of his art, he paints large decorative panels representing landscapes to adorn apartments, villas, and private hotels. However, this talented decorator also manages to create paintings on a smaller scale.

Normandy remains Édouard Vuillard's quintessential vacation spot. Spending all his summers there from 1901 to 1914, the region serves as a source of inspiration for him. He thus sometimes combines landscape painting with his fondness for the Normandy vacation in his works.

Édouard Vuillard (1868 – 1940)
The Massif, 1907
Pastel on cardboard
Private collection

THE MASSIF • ÉDOUARD VUILLARD

If Édouard Vuillard initially focused on realistic still lifes and domestic interiors, in 1889 he joined a group of artists called the "Nabis" (prophets in Hebrew), which notably included Paul Sérusier (1864-1927), Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), and Maurice Denis (1870-1943). For these artists, the goal was to break free from all academic conventions, especially the faithful reproduction of nature or observed scenes.
During Édouard Vuillard's stays at "Château Rouge," the property of his friend and art dealer Jos Hessel, the painter encountered figures from the world of arts such as Tristan Bernard, Pierre Bonnard, and Marcel Proust. The latter drew inspiration from his conversations with Édouard Vuillard for the character of Elstir, an ideal painter, in his novel "À la recherche du temps perdu" (In Search of Lost Time), published from 1913 to 1927 in seven volumes.