4. HENRY MORET (1856-1913) Cliffs at Clohars, calm weather signed and dated 'Henry Moret 1908' (lower left) oil on canvas Painted in 1908 60 x 81 cm. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Jean-Yves Rolland. It will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné Henry Moret, currently in preparation. Provenance Private collection, France. Private collection, France (by descent). The Finistère region, the birthplace of the painter, is the incandescent soil of Henry Moret's works, which carry within them a virginity mingled with grace, so much so that his landscapes, with their elliptical scenography, retain from their subjects, whether animate or inanimate, only the very essence of their being: the softness of the foam that tenderly washes ashore, the vivacious fragrance of freshly grazed grass, the sunny childhood on the sea.... because all that filters through the lashes of his brush is his sensory and restless gaze, the prerogative of those who always strive for perfection. Not far from the landscape that awakens before our eyes, Cliffs at Clohars, calm weather, Henry Moret joined Gauguin and his friends (Emile Bernard, Charles Filiger, Paul Sérusier, etc.) at Marie Henry's inn in Le Pouldu, before settling in Doëlan where his palette tended towards synthesis, after having been for a time in the vein of Corot and the Barbizon painters. Through his contact with the artists of the Pont-Aven School, his brushstrokes were inspired by Japanese prints, with their broad flat tints and moderate use of circles. His art took on a sacred mission: to reject materialism and rationalism and, through pure colour, to awaken the heart of the viewer, following in the footsteps of Gauguin, his spiritual father. In 1891, Henry Moret began his long stays in the Ponant islands, which, along with the Finistère coast, became his favourite subjects. In an enchanting balance, his works blossom into paintings of the moment and the decantation of memories revealed by his sparkling colours, the sea spray that turns purple and the flowery moire that glistens in the distance. From 1895 onwards, his brush favoured atmospheric effects, which attracted the famous art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, with whom he worked from 1898 onwards. His paintings graced the walls of New York and Paris, before joining prestigious private and public collections. The Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de Boston now include his works in their permanent collections. In a subtle sensory interplay, the infinite richness of his palette is reminiscent of Monet, with whom he shares the shimmer of his brushstrokes. A painter of freedom and solitude, as the years go by, his partitioning colours evaporate in favour of penetrating hues, the narrative vision of the representation moving into a Bergsonian perception: for Moret, time is mobility. A veritable showcase for his art, the work we have the honour of presenting in our sale, kept out of sight for almost half a century, was painted in 1908. It bears out the words Henry Eon wrote about the painter a few years earlier: "As simply as possible, Henry Moret opens a window on nature". In front of this sea of clarity and conquest, the painter brings us the palpitation of the sea breeze. This work, of infinite gentleness, carries within it the radiance of a reminiscence. From these cliffs, asleep for a moment, the painter retains only the fragrance, for Henry Moret belongs to those rare artists who have the gift of conveying the sensation of life. He knows how to seize the unfathomable to lift us to the invisible. This dawn opened in the quivering wind is the imprint we keep within us of the torpor of a spring afternoon. A prince of infinitesimal memory, Henry Moret does not depict scenes, he captures the corners of Time.