Jour de régates, Menton
Date1894
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 32 1/4 × 26 inches (81.9 × 66 cm)
Framed: 39 1/8 × 33 × 1 1/2 inches (99.4 × 83.8 × 3.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase.
Object number1916.3
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextA native of Belgium, Alfred Stevens settled in Paris during the 1850s. The subjects of his early canvases link him to social realists like Gustave Courbet and Jean-Francois Millet, but Stevens ultimately found fame and prosperity painting elegant and affluent Parisian ladies. After 1880, when his doctor ordered him to vacation in the sea air, Stevens passed much of his time on the coast.
Jour de régates, Menton, painted on a visit to the shore in 1894, reveals the artist’s sensitivity as a colorist. Drifting on a pale turquoise-blue sea are numerous white-sailed boats with black hulls. Seated on a blue-gray rock in the foreground, a woman looks out over the landscape and across the bay. Far away are green hills, and beyond these are mountains obscured in a violet haze. The harmonious arrangement of colors lends a cool tone overall and projects a sense of calm relaxation.
Subject MatterMenton, France
