The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 9, 2024

The Cliffs at Beg-ar-Fry, Saint-Jean-du-Doigt

The Cliffs at Beg-ar-Fry, Saint-Jean-du-Doigt

1895
(French, 1861–1918)
France, 19th century
oil on fabric
Framed: 66.5 x 80 x 4.5 cm (26 3/16 x 31 1/2 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 60 x 73.3 cm (23 5/8 x 28 7/8 in.)
Gift of Ellen Wade Chinn, Elizabeth Wade Sedgwick and J. H. Wade III in memory of their mother Irene Love Wade 1966.382
Location: not on view

Description

Maxime Maufra was initially an amateur artist, but in 1883 he gave up a career in business to devote himself entirely to painting. He traveled throughout Normandy and Britany painting sea and landscapes. During a visit to Pont-Aven in northwestern France in 1890 he met Paul Gauguin and a group of young artists who were inspired by Gauguin’s approaches to color and composition in his art. In particular, Maufra began to translate forms into flat planes of bold color arranged in decorative patterns as seen in this seascape of the Breton coast. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this painting is the way the artist framed the composition at the left with the view of a steep cliff.




[SF1]Okay? [HL2]Yes.
  • Deposited by Maufra on 25 February 1895 at Durand-Ruel, Paris (depot 8630).
    Bought from the artist by Durand-Ruel, Paris (stock number 3451) on 23 November 1895.
    Sold to Durand-Ruel, New York (stock number 1455), 14 December 1895.
    Bought by Jeptha Homer Wade, Cleveland, 1 November 1900 . By descent. Given to the CMA in 1966.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 181 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 225 archive.org
    Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 423-424, Vol. II, no. 146
  • New York, Durand-Ruel. Exposition of Maxime Maufra (1896), no. 10, Les falaises de Bec au Fry [sic], St. Jean-du-Doigt.
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=The Cliffs at Beg-ar-Fry, Saint-Jean-du-Doigt|url=false|author=Maxime Maufra|year=1895|access-date=09 September 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.382