(English Translation)

La démarche de la Cancalaise est rythmique, balancée. Son corps se porte, en mesure, de droite à gauche, en un mouvement régulier. Il semble que la terre lui soit un immense radeau, et qu'elle y marche avec bonne brise. Il lui faut le panier à poisson passé au bras, il faut qu'elle ait le poignet sur la hanche, il faut que ses jupes battent au vent de la Gueuse . . . Alors elle est superbe ! 

-- Hippolyte Devillers
(www.cancale-cancavene.de)
 
 

(French Original)

The step of the Cancalaise is rhythmic and balanced. Her body carries itself, in a measurement from her right side to the left all in a steady movement. It seems that the ground is to her an immense raft, and that she walks with a good breeze. It is necessary to carry the fish basket under her arm, it is necessary that she have the wrist on the hip, and it is necessary that her skirts beat with the wind of the Gueuse [the smell of the oyster mold?] . . . Then she is superb! 

-- Hippolyte Devillers
(www.cancale-cancavene.de)

* * *

Forum

(Editor's Note -  A continuation of an exchange between Udo and myself)

From: Natasha
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004

(Cont.)  . . . This just knocked me over with excitement as you [Udo Dünnebacke] have put together these quotes [above] on Cancale.

If you look at Sargent's Studies [at this page] I feel almost certain that Sargent must have been reading or had read Hippolyte Devillers prior to painting his Oyster Gatherers. I have searched for a date of La Cancalaise by Hippolyte Devillers  but have been unable to find it. Would you happen to know?

I am myself very interested in the date of La Cancalaise by Hippolyte Devillers. The similarity between the description of the women of Cancale in the text of H.D. and the women in the picture of J.S.S. is in deed very astonishing.  I will ask Hervé whether he knows the year, and we will write an email to the publishing house “Les Editions du Phare” in Cancale that publishes the book of H.D. I am sure that we will get an answer.

In three weeks, I will travel again to Cancale. I also will ask at the book there.

Tue, 31 Aug 2004

Bonjour Madame Wallace!

I am returned from Cancale, where I have made some investigations about Hippolyte Devillers in the library of the town. H.D. has completed his book “Cancalaises” in January 1904. So J.S.S. painting from 1878 is older then the text of H.D.

From: Natasha

My goodness. Your findings are astonishing! Then Sargent, it seems, had made his visual observations about the women of Cancale on his own. One is left to wonder, if Hippolyte Devillers  did not influence Sargent, maybe the reverse is true – maybe Sargent’s sharp observation influenced Hippolyte Devillers comments.  But then maybe we will never know the answer to that.

Oyster Gatherers of Cancale

Oyster Gatherers of Cancale (sketch)
 
 

Notes:

Special thanks to Madeleine Bruchet, who's mother lived in Cancale, for sending the image, and Udo Dünnebacke, of Germany, both friends of the JSS Gallery.

Provenance:
The artist
Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, New York, April 7–8, 1971, lot 32
Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1981
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1999
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Exhibition History:
Americans in Brittany and Normandy: 1860–1910, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona (organizer). Venues: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 24–November 28, 1982; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, December 17, 1982–February 6, 1983; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona March 19–May 1, 1983; National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C., June 10–August 14, 1983. [exh. cat.]

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

American Painters in France, 1830–1930, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, June 14–September 3, 1989. [exh. cat.]

Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915 (Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 1–November 1, 1992; April 1-October 31, 1993; April 1–October 30, 1994; April 1–October 31, 1995. [exh. cat.]

American Artists and the French Experience Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–August 27, 1997.

Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900 (Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection: American Artists in France, 1860–1910, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–June 3, 2001.

D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).

The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940 (Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains 1840–1940), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 8–August 17, 2003. [exh. cat.]

A Narrative of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 13–October 31, 2004.

Le Passage à Paris: les artistes américains en France, 1860–1930 (Passing through Paris: American Artists in France, 1860–1930), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, April 1–October 31, 2005. [exh. brochure]

Impressions: American Painters in France 1860–1935, Naples Museum of Art, Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, Florida (organizer). Venue: Naples Museum of Art, Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, Florida. January 18–May 13, 2007. [exh. cat]


Bibliography:
Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, New York (April 7–8, 1971): lot 32. Ill. lot 32.

Sellin, David. Americans in Brittany and Normandy: 1860–1910. (exh. cat., Phoenix Art Museum). Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Art Museum, 1982. Ill. no. 16, p. 137 (black & white as Sketch for the Oyster Gatherers of Cancale).

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-87, p. 196 (color).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text pp. 216, 220; pl. 53, p. 218 (color).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text pp. 216, 220; pl. 53, p. 218 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text p. 28 (checklist); ill. p. 37 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text p. 28 (checklist); ill. p. 37 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Ill. p. 94 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Ill. p. 94 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. and David F. Setford. Impressions: Americans in France, 1860–1930 and Claude Monet: Giverny and the North of France. (exh. cat. Naples Museum of Art). Naples, Florida: Naples Museum of Art, 2007. Text pp. 13–14, 97 (checklist); ill. p. 29 (color). 

• See the Musée d'Art Américain
• See the year in review 1877