The Beach at Saint-Jacut

1909

The Beach at Saint-Jacut, 1909. Edouard Vuillard (French, 1868–1940). Distemper on paper, laid down on canvas; image and sheet: 57.8 x 43.2 cm (22 3/4 x 17 in.); mounted: 58.7 x 44.3 cm (23 1/8 x 17 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.143 Édouard Vuillard spent the summer of 1909 in the French coastal town of Saint-Jacut de la Mer, known for its beaches and bathing. Sharing housing with a group of artist friends, Vuillard sketched and painted avidly, depicting the seascape in several works including this drawing. Here, the artist emphasized the remoteness of the beach, depicting a woman sitting alone, wearing a gray dress that matches the tone of the infinitely expanding sky beyond her. Vuillard created this drawing using distemper, a technique that involves mixing pigment and glue, which he favored at this time for the planes of matte color that resulted.