PARIS – A Claude Monet painting, "Vetheuil, effet du matin," sold for $12.1 million (10.2 million euros) at Sotheby's, setting a record for the most expensive Monet ever auctioned in France. The work had remained in private hands for nearly a century, last appearing publicly 98 years ago.
Monet painted "Vetheuil, effet du matin" in 1901 while living in Lavacourt, a hamlet along the Seine River. From his balcony, he created a series depicting the village of Vetheuil across the water, including this work showing the church of Notre-Dame de Vetheuil rising above surrounding buildings with the Seine at its base.
The painting demonstrates Monet's ability to capture shifting light across water and landscape. Bidding lasted 10 minutes, driving the final price past the 8 million euro top estimate.
A second significant Monet, "Les iles de Port-Villez," sold for $7.6 million (6.5 million euros), far exceeding its 5 million euro top estimate. The work had not been publicly displayed for 115 years and appeared in full color for the first time since its creation; only black-and-white images existed previously.
Monet painted "Les iles de Port-Villez" in 1883, weeks after settling in Giverny, the location that would inspire much of his later work. The painting depicts the wooded islets near Port-Villez in swirling blues and greens. Monet worked from a specially designed boat studio on the Seine to capture these details.
Aurélie Vandevoorde, co-head of modern and contemporary art at Sotheby's Paris, said it was "a rare privilege to offer for sale in Paris two significant paintings by Claude Monet, rediscovered a century after their last public appearance." She added that "intense bidding from across the globe underscores collectors' enduring enthusiasm for Impressionist masterpieces presented in the very place of their creation."
The two paintings were sold by the Schlumberger family, a French billionaire household.
