Belle-Île by Claude Monet

Claude Monet
1840–1926 | French

Belle-Île

Stamped with signature “Claude Monet” (lower right and verso)
Oil on canvas

This exceptionally bold masterwork by the great Claude Monet is one of his rare Brittany seascapes. This pivotal chapter in his career saw Monet pushing his groundbreaking techniques to new heights, finding renewed inspiration in the dramatic cliffs and azure waters of the iconic Brittany region. Belle-Île embodies the legendary artist at his most adventurous and expressive.

In September 1886, Monet left Giverny for the remote island of Belle-Île. Though intending only a brief stay, the artist became utterly captivated by what locals called the côte sauvage—the “wild coast”—and extended his stay another ten weeks. Hiring an ex-lobsterman as his porter, Monet spent this time rendering the rocky terrain and pounding surf under rapidly changing weather conditions and fierce winds.

With no storms in sight, this stunning painting is brimming with the radiant light that Monet was famous for capturing. Belle-Île was situated on black volcanic rock, which Monet renders here with bold, dynamic brushstrokes and flashes of bright red, pink and orange. He also brings the brilliant azure of the Atlantic to life with a mesmerizing array of blues and greens. Powerful and majestic, this canvas represents a watershed moment for the artist, marking a turning point that brought him unprecedented critical acclaim.

Monet painted only eight views of this particular site on Belle-Île, called La Roche Guibel, recording it from different angles and under different weather conditions. One of these eight works recently went for over $10 million at Christie’s in 2024. Other examples of Monet’s magnificent Belle-Île canvases reside in the world’s most prestigious museums, including the Musée d’Orsay, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Yale University Art Gallery and many others. 

Painted 1886

Canvas: 22 5/8” high x 22 5/8” wide (57.5 x 57.5 cm)
Frame: 30 3/4” high x 30 3/4” wide x 3 5/8” deep (78.1 x 78.1 x 9.2 cm)

View the Dossier

Provenance:
Michel Monet, by descent from the artist (c. 1926)
Maurice Loupias, Caulnes
Sale, consigned by above to Palais Galliera, Paris, December 8, 1973, no. 62 (color ill. as “Belle-Ile en Mer”)
Private collection, France
Private collection, Switzerland
Exclusive Arts, Ltd, New York
Private collection, France
Private collection, England
Private collection, Europe
Private collection, New York
M.S. Rau, New Orleans

Literature:
Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. 2, 1882-1886, Peintures, 1979, no. 1113, p. 208, 279, no. 704 (illustrated)
Denise Delouche, “Monet et Belle-Ile en 1886,” Bulletin des amis du musée de Rennes, no. 4, 1980, p. 47, 54, fig. 27 (illustrated)
Denise Delouche, Monet à Belle-Ile, 1992, p. 36 (illustrated)
Daniel Wildenstein, Monet: Catalogue Raisonné, Volume III: Nos. 969-1595, 1996, no. 1113, p. 421 (illustrated)
Denise Delouche, Monet à Belle-Ile, 2nd. ed., 2006, p. 44 (illustrated)

Exhibited:
Roslyn Harbor, New York, Nassau County Museum of Art, Long Island Collects Modern Art, July 25-November 8, 2015