Alice with parasol on a yacht

Description of the artwork

In 1898, Alice, the painter's second daughter, was the victim of a fatal accident in the Bois de Boulogne, struck down at just 18 months by two runaway horses. The painter is devastated by grief, and his sweet wife Alice falls into a terrible depression. To try and distract her, Paul Helleu, who had already been yachting during the summer of 1896, rented the yacht Barbara, the first of many and a source of comfort.

Passionate about the sea and yachting, now spending summers on the water between Deauville and Cowes, Helleu soon bought the Bird, then the Étoile in 1900, before acquiring Brunette in 1908. He devoted himself to yachting with his characteristic elegance, producing some very fine and often little-known Impressionist-style seascapes.

It was aboard the Étoile that the artist welcomed many of his friends. Whenever he had the chance, he painted Alice, dressed in white, parasol in hand, leaning against the rail or sitting in a comfortable wicker armchair. She seems to be doing better, and the sweet moments with her children and friends on board provide her with precious support.

As is often the case in his scenes of daily life aboard the yacht, Helleu divides his canvas by a large oblique line separating the sea on one side from the boat's deck on the other. This slightly plunging view accentuates the dynamism of his composition. In what appears to be a rapid gesture, Helleu sometimes uses an extremely diluted material, even revealing the prepared canvas, and sometimes a thick, unctuous material, applied with broad brushstrokes creating vibrant impasto.

The spontaneity of this canvas brings to mind Goncourt's subtle formulation of the painter's work as “snapshots of a woman's grace”.

Origin

Private collection, France

Literature

The authenticity has been confirmed by the Association des Amis de Paul Cesar Helleu. Listed under number HU2-8390