Provenance
Paris art market; probably (sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 5 March 1945, no. 41., repro.).[1] (Galerie Dina Vierny, Paris); purchased 18 July 1950 through John Rewald by Mrs. John Hay Whitney as a gift for her husband, New York;[2] gift 1998 to NGA.
[1]The 1960 Tate exhibition of the Whitney collection confused the provenance of this picture with one by the same title which was offered at the Hôtel Drouot, 27 February 1932, no. 62. The reproduction published in that sales catalogue confirms that it was not the Whitney painting. The reproduction published in the 5 March 1945 sales catalogue, however, appears to be Whitney painting. [2]Acquisition information according to Whitney records now in NGA curatorial files.
Accession Number
1998.74.3
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 54 x 64.8 cm (21 1/4 x 25 1/2 in.) | framed: 72.1 x 83.2 x 6.7 cm (28 3/8 x 32 3/4 x 2 5/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney
Tags
Painting Early Modern (1901–1950) Oil Painting Canvas French
Background & Context
Background Story
The Beach at Sainte-Adresse from 1906 is an early work by Dufy, depicting the beach at Sainte-Adresse near Le Havre—Dufy's hometown and the subject of some of his earliest and most important paintings. The 1906 date places this in Dufy's Fauve period, when he was painting in the bold, non-naturalistic colors that Matisse and Derain had introduced at the Salon d'Automne in 1905. The beach at Sainte-Adresse allowed Dufy to combine Fauve color with a subject that was close to his heart—the Norman seaside that he had known since childhood.
Cultural Impact
Dufy's Sainte-Adresse paintings are among his most important early works because they show his Fauve style at its most confident. The Beach at Sainte-Adresse from 1906 demonstrates the influence of Matisse on the young Dufy: the flat, bold colors and the simplified drawing are pure Fauvism, applied to a Norman seaside subject that Dufy would return to throughout his career. The painting is a document of the Fauve moment—a brief period when Dufy's color was as bold as Matisse's—before he developed the lighter, more decorative style that would define his mature work.
Why It Matters
The Beach at Sainte-Adresse is Dufy as a Fauve: the Norman seaside near Le Havre rendered in the bold, non-naturalistic colors that Matisse and Derain introduced in 1905. The 1906 date captures Dufy in his Fauve moment—before the lighter, more decorative style that would define his mature work. The painting is Dufy's hometown seen through Fauve eyes.
