I visited Frankfurt again, after two decades. My ex-colleagues Jörg and Sabrina spent wonderful time with me. On my last day with Sabrina, she took me to
the Städel Museum to see the
exhibition of Étretat, fabulous paintings by
Claude Monet,
Eugène Delacroix,
Gustave Courbet,
Henri Matisse,
Johann Wilhelm Schirmer,
Eugène Le Poittevin, as well as
Camille Corot,
Eugène Boudin and
Elger Esser.
Étretat is a picturesque seaside town on
Normandy’s Alabaster Coast. Nature has carved unusual shapes out of the white
cliffs. The dramatic white chalk cliffs with natural arches and the
needle-like Aiguille rock were like a magnet, attracting numerous artists to
capture the stunning scenes on canvas in the 19th century. It played a pivotal role in the birth of modern painting.
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| Eugène Isabey |
It is widely considered that Eugène Isabey
is among the first painters to draw the breathtaking cliffs in the 1820s. Then
came Eugene Le Pottevin. His lifelike sea bathing paintings were displayed in major art spots
in Paris, along with promotions by doctors prescribing it as therapy for a
range of ailments attracted crowds flocking to Étretat.
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| Eugene Le Pottevin |
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| Eugene Le Pottevin |
Later came Gustave Courbet, visiting Eugene
Le Pottevin. He spent five weeks at Étretat and painted over 20 sea and
landscapes. The famous ones are The Cliff at Étretat after the Storm and The Wave but this peaceful painting appealed me most, The Calm Sea.
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| Gustave Courbet |
Monet was fascinated by Étretat’s
spectacular coastline since he was a child. He spent several extended periods
in Étretat between 1860s and 1880s, delivering more than 50 paintings to his
impressions of nature along the coastline (over 20 paintings are displayed at
the exhibition). The rock formations at Étretat inspired his painting innovations
significantly. Monet began experimenting with the manner that would come to be
called “Impressionist” during his second stay in Étretat.
Courber casted his influence to Monet. In
1883, six years after Courbet’s death, Monet painted Stormy Sea at Étretat,
skillfully capturing the impression of white-capped, churning waves whipped up
by a raging storm beneath a sallow sky.
Monet did not only paint the coastline and
nature, but also unconventional figure paintings. Hanging as the centerpiece of
the Städel Museum is The Luncheon. In the winter of 1868/69, Monet rented a
house in the village for himself and his family. The painting portrays his
partner Camille and their son Jean at a generously laid lunch table. An
elegantly dressed woman leans against the window, and a maid looks through the
door. The posh lifestyle pictured here, however, does not jibe with Monet's
tight budget.
Among the other works painted in Étretat, a
painting from Hugues Merle drew my attention. Merle has depicted a woman
cradling a log of wood in her arms, replacing her dead child. The tragic scene
and despair filled viewers’ heart.
Let’s shift back to the striking cliffs and
sea. The exhibition features other European painters as well. Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, a German landscape painter, travelled to the Normandy coast and
carried out a series of oil studies from nature in 1936. In contrast to the
often loosely painted atmospheric sketches by his contemporaries, Schirmer’s
open-air studies are striking by virtue of the close-up views and the precision
of his observations.
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| Johann Wilhelm Schirmer |
Other painters left impressions to me
include Louis Meijer, Henri Matisse and Elger Esser, a German landscape
photographer who was born in 1967.
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| Louis Meijer |
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| Henri Matisse |
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| Elger Esser |
Apart from the exhibition, many other paintings
worth your attention and admiration. Right after the staircase to the
exhibition floor stands a painting of Goethe. I might have seen it three
decades ago or anywhere else featuring the great writer. Other big names are
Vincent van Gogh, Gustave Courbet, Marc Chagall and Monet not depicting Étretat.
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| Farm House, Vincent van Gogh |
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| View of River Main, Gustave Courbet |
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| Marc Chagall |
After appreciating the masterpieces, the
last spike is to reach the
museum terrace for superb views of the surroundings.
On the left is a bridge connecting the
Museumsurfer or Museum Riverbank to the
area of modern buildings forming a new skyline. The views with sunshine
detained us there for some time.
On the ground level, you can choose to
glimpse the 39 museums at the
Museum Riverbank by strolling along the river to see
people enjoying the sun and river. We picked the latter and enjoyed our last
hours with
Rimini pizzas along the river Main. A nice end of the day!
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