Works inspired by Britanny

The Widow from the Ile de Sein

Emile RENOUF (1845-1894)

1880

Enlarge picture jpg 125Ko (See the caption hereafter) (modal window)
Emile Renouf (1845-1894) - La Veuve de l’île de Sein, 1880 - Huile sur toile, 260 x 170 cm © Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper

Oil on canvas

55-48

Purchased from the artist in 1880

H. 260 cm - W. 170 cm

This has become one of the most famous paintings since its presentation at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889.  The artist uses a waitress from a café on the Ile de Sein, whom he dresses as a widow, and a child from the neighbourhood.  As a setting, he chooses the old, abandoned cemetery for cholera victims, and the colour of the tombstones suggests that this area may well be submerged in the sea from time to time. The large canvas, with a black frame like a mourning card, is intended to be moving and to show Brittany as country where sea related dramas are part of everyday life. 

 

Works inspired by Britanny

The Widow from the Ile de Sein

Emile RENOUF (1845-1894)

1880

Enlarge picture jpg 125Ko (See the caption hereafter) (modal window)
Emile Renouf (1845-1894) - La Veuve de l’île de Sein, 1880 - Huile sur toile, 260 x 170 cm © Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper

Oil on canvas

55-48

Purchased from the artist in 1880

H. 260 cm - W. 170 cm

This has become one of the most famous paintings since its presentation at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889.  The artist uses a waitress from a café on the Ile de Sein, whom he dresses as a widow, and a child from the neighbourhood.  As a setting, he chooses the old, abandoned cemetery for cholera victims, and the colour of the tombstones suggests that this area may well be submerged in the sea from time to time. The large canvas, with a black frame like a mourning card, is intended to be moving and to show Brittany as country where sea related dramas are part of everyday life. 

 

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