Antibes, by Claude Monet

Claude Monet (1840-1926) painted “Antibes” in 1888 during a stay in the town, which is on the Mediterranean coast of France between Nice and Cannes. This is now a very fashionable resort but was much less highly developed when Monet was there between February and May of that year.

The scene is a view across the Gulf of Antibes looking towards the distant Estérel Mountains. A single tree, probably a maritime pine, leans across the foreground from the left-hand side. It forms an internal framework for the sea and mountains, and there is evidence (from X-ray analysis) that Monet originally positioned the tree more towards the centre of the canvas but changed his mind when he appreciated the benefit of using it to frame the scene.

Monet had been influenced by Japanese prints and he was a keen collector of them. That influence is apparent in “Antibes” in that the scene appears to be part of a panorama that invites the viewer to speculate on how it might be continued on either side.

However, the main interest of the painting is not so much the composition as the balance of colours. We know that this was Monet’s main concern, from a letter he wrote at the time that stated: “What I will bring back from here will be sweetness itself, white, pink and blue, all enveloped in this magical air”.

The colours form a tapestry not only of those three colours but also green, as seen in the varying shades of the tree leaves as the sunlight catches them. There are also flecks of green on the sea, which is much calmer than in Monet’s original conception, as apparent from the X-ray analysis mentioned above.

“Antibes” is a typical impressionist painting in that it seeks to convey the complex ways in which the colours of things are changed by the way light falls on them. It is a snapshot of the colours seen when the sun is at a particular place in the sky on that particular part of the French coast. Had the artist been at work an hour before or afterwards, the painting would not have looked like this.

However, a painting is not a photograph and it takes time to compose, with the light changing all the time that the artist is at work. This was a problem for Monet, especially as the weather changed from day to day and the impression was not the same on successive days, even at the same time of day.

It is clear that Monet made many changes before he was satisfied – not only the compositional changes mentioned earlier but also as regards the effects of sunlight and the balance of colours. The painting was finished in Monet’s studio in Paris when he had to rely on his memory of the scene.

“Antibes” is therefore an excellent example of how an artist can work long and hard to produce a work that looks entirely spontaneous, as though it had sprung fully-formed on to his easel in an instant.

“Antibes” measures 65.5 x 92.4 centimetres. It is on display at the Courtauld Gallery, London, having been bequeathed as part of the collection of the gallery’s founder, the industrialist Samuel Courtauld.

© John Welford