Alfred Stevens (1823 - 1906) Belgian- l'Estacade, Le Havre, 1881.

Oil on panel, signed and dated "Sept. 81"
Dimensions: 26 cm x 41 cm, with frame 48 cm x 61 cm

In 1880, the painter experienced difficulties: the beginnings of a new style of painting, Impressionism, questions his pictorial approach. His doctor sent him to Menton, he traveled to the north of France. Berthe Morisot pushes him towards Impressionism which he adopts in his seascapes, whose sensitivity and modernity are in every way similar to those of Jongkind. Alfred Stevens painted this painting in 1881 at this time of pictorial upheaval. It represents the pier near Le Havre, a place of pleasure in Sainte-Adresse made famous by painters (Raoul Dufy, Claude Monet to name a few). It gives large flat areas of color, the sea is adorned with an avant-garde material. The shades of gray are punctuated by a few sailboats and the wooden pontoon, the pier. The grasses of the dune are suggested by brushstrokes. The sand disappears, it's high tide. The back of the panel indicates that the painting was offered for sale as part of the Ischia raffle, to raise funds in aid of the victims of 1883.

Bibliography: In 1886, he wrote the famous Impressions sur la peinture, the book is very successful and has been translated into several languages:. Alfred Stevens, Impressions sur la peinture, Paris, Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1883, 96 pages. . "The Illustrated World", August 18, 1883, p. 1-3.

Museums: Antwerp, Brussels, Boston, London, New York, Winchester, Munich, Nantes, Nancy, Pontoise.