Cliffs at Veulettes-sur-Mer

Artist Stephen Parrish (American, 1846 - 1938)

Date1884

MediumGraphite and chinese white on heavy tan paper

DimensionsOverall: 7 × 13in. (17.8 × 33cm)

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2004.22

DescriptionA horizontal drawing of the ocean, beach, and large cliffs at Veulettes, Normandy, France. The cliffs are in the upper 1/3 of the drawing and are the most detailed element of the drawing. Chinese white is used to accent the sky and ocean waves above and below the cliffs.

On View

Not on view

Label TextParrish was raised in Philadelphia by a devout Quaker family that supported his interest in art. In 1867 he traveled to Paris and London for the first time, an experience that ultimately led him to become an artist. He became one of America's most accomplished printmakers at a time when etchings were popular with the art-buying public. The landscape of eastern North America was his most beloved subject but he was also attracted to the French countryside and coast. Parrish made this drawing in France at Veulettes-sur-mer, a small seaside resort on the Normandy coast halfway between the cities of Dieppe and Fécamp. This area is known as the Alabaster Coast because of the flint and marl strata in its chalk cliffs. Parrish and his family sojourned in Veulettes from September 29 to October 11, 1884. Although other drawings he made in Veulettes at this time were subsequently used as sources for etchings, this one was not. However, the strongly defined cliffs depicted in this work suggest that Parrish was exploring the pictorial potential of this view. The white highlights broaden the work's tonal range while simultaneously emphasizing the cliff's profile and giving visual interest to the water in the foreground. Paul Torres Hamilton College Intern March 2006