MONET (Claude). Autograph letter signed "Claude... Lot 46

MONET (Claude). Autograph letter signed "Claude Monet" to Georges de Bellio. Vétheuil [in the current department of Val-d'Oise], June 4, 1880. 1 p. 1/2 in-8, envelope preserved; a split at the fold. "Dear Monsieur de Bellio, I will only be in Paris tomorrow morning. As soon as I arrive, I will have the paintings you promised me for my exhibition of La Vie moderne [organized by this periodical in June 1880] taken from your house: the pink VETHEUIL, THE FLAGS, LA PRAIRIE (the last one delivered), LA GARE St-LAZARE (with frame), THE DINING ROOM (" "). I would have liked to go to see you but my day of tomorrow is well taken, the exhibition having to open on Monday, moreover I take with me my son Jean who is going to make his first communion in a few days and to whom I must buy costume and various things for this ceremony. This leads me to tell you that you would be doing me a great service if tomorrow you had a 200 fcs bill for me, because I am going to arrive in Paris without a penny and it will not be possible for me to take care of sales before having organized the exhibition. You will be kind enough to give the answer to the commissioner that I will send you tomorrow, and I will see you on Monday or Tuesday. So see you soon, and all yours... " VETHEUIL, MONET'S MELANCHOLIC AND ENCHANTING STAY. Monet, who experienced dark times in Vétheuil (1878-1881), faced with financial difficulties and the illness and death of his first wife, was very active there, painting more than a hundred pictures representing the village, the Seine and the village church. - DOCTOR DE BELLIO, FRIEND AND PATRON OF MONET. A doctor of Romanian origin who arrived in France in 1850 and was an ardent supporter of the Impressionists, Georges de Bellio bought Monet's first painting in 1874 and subsequently commissioned many paintings from him, while actively helping him to find other buyers. He was a great help to Monet during his penniless stay in Vétheuil. A large part of his important collection is now kept in the Musée Marmottan in Paris.