A one-page autographed letter in French signed by Impressionist artist Claude Monet (1840-1926), as "Claude Monet" near the center bottom. Dated Friday, February 18, 1881. Written on the first page of bifold, cream, laid paper. The inner pages and outermost pages are blank. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and evenly toned. A former collector's pencil inscription is partly erased in the upper left corner. Else near fine. 5.25" x 8.125." A full English translation is provided.
Claude Monet had married his mistress, Camille Doncieux (1847-1879), in 1870 after the birth of their illegitimate first child Jean Monet. Around 1876, Claude Monet began a romantic relationship with Alice Hoschedé (1844-1911), a married mother of five (and soon to be six) children, and the wife of his patron, the department store mogul and art collector Ernest Hoschedé (1837-1891). After Ernest Hoschedé went bankrupt in 1877, the Hoschedés moved in with the Monets. Their unconventional blended household was thus comprised, after 1878, of: Claude and Camille Monet, their sons Jean and Michel; as well as Alice and Ernest Hoschedé, and their children Marthe, Blanche, Suzanne, Jacques, Germaine, and Jean-Pierre (though Jean-Pierre's father might have really been Claude Monet!)
Claude Monet was traveling when he wrote this letter to Marthe Hoschedé (1864-1925), the eldest daughter of Alice and Ernest (and his future step-daughter). The letter was almost certainly directed to the Monet-Hoschedé household in Vétheuil, located about 60 km northwest of Paris. Monet's lack of punctuation has been silently corrected. He wrote, translated in full:
"Friday 18 February [18]81,
My dear Marthe,
I received your letter and it is with pleasure that I task myself with your commission. I will do my best, be certain of that. I had thought of it before receiving your letter suggesting that I finish this little delivery.
You can send yourselves over tomorrow in the carriage.
Kiss Michel and baby for me -- they receive my best wishes.
Claude Monet
I don't have time to reply to Jean this evening but tell him that I will also do all of his errands."
In Monet's letter to Marthe, he mentioned his two sons with Camille Monet: eldest son Jean (1867-1914), then about 13; and Michel (1878-1966), almost 3. Marthe acted as a sort of older sister and caregiver to the two Monet boys. The Monet and Hoschedé families would be officially united after Claude married Alice in 1892. Blanche Hoschedé would marry her step-brother Jean Monet in 1897.
Claude Monet is considered a foundational figure in the artistic movement known as Impressionism; indeed, his 1872 painting "Impression, Sunrise" inadvertently lent its name to the artistic school. Impressionists celebrated painting en plein air, or directly in the landscape, and they believed that nature was just as worthy of being depicted as religious studies or historical scenes. Just as Monet's artistic style flew in the face of convention, so too did his personal choices and domestic life. He quite placidly lived side by side with both his wife and mistress, along with his mistress's husband, and their combined household of eight children.
Authenticated and encapsulated by Beckett Authentication Services (BAS).