A 4pp autograph letter in French 3x signed by Impressionist artist Claude Monet (1840-1926), the first time as "Claude Monet" near the top of the fourth page. The second and third signatures can be found in the name of Monet's oldest son, Jean Monet, who is referred to twice in the letter as "Sergeant Monet." Written at Monet's home at Giverny par Vernon Eure, France on "Wednesday night," or December 24, 1890. Boldly inscribed on both sides of the watermarked bifold paper in vivid purple ink, Monet's preferred color for correspondence. Expected wear including flattened mail folds, ink transference, ink bleed-through, and isolated water spots, else very good to near fine. 4.5" x 7." Accompanied by its original transmittal envelope also engrossed by Monet, letter-opened and with various hand-stamped and colored pencil philatelic markings.

Monet wrote this letter to his friend Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898), the well-known French poet, art critic, salon host, and social influencer. Monet's oldest son Jean Monet (1867-1914), a sergeant in the Third Corps of the French Army, had been seriously ill that winter. Monet and Mallarmé had lately worked together to pull some bureaucratic strings in order to extend Jean's medical leave. At first, it seemed like Jean's extended convalescence was assured. Most recently, however, Monet had received some bad news about what a "small extension of service" would cost his son: Jean's sergeant's ranking.

Translated in part, with punctuation silently added to improve clarity:

"The influence of the Marshal will be more useful than ever to us. Here is why. The response to my request made in this regard by my friend the painter Jeanniot to General du Guiny, commander of the 3rd corps: my son receives now, by the care of the gendarmerie, a service note informing him that the said General is disposed to grant him an extension of leave of 3 months, on condition that Sergeant Monet consents to return his stripes…

Jean's giving up his stripes in return for a 3-month-long leave would be to submit to all possible miseries…

Thus, dear friend, if the Marshal's letter was not directly addressed to the Minister, I believe that you would be able to send it [to me] right away, and I will [include it with] a request directly addressed to the Minister…"

In this letter, Monet mentions his "friend the painter Jeanniot" ["mon ami le peintre Jeanniot."] The Swiss Impressionist artist Pierre-Georges Jeanniot (1848-1934) provided us with some of the best contemporary descriptions of Monet's working method, having visited Monet at Giverny. For example, Jeanniot reported in 1888: "Monet works only on the effect he has chosen (even if it lasts no more than ten minutes) and always works from life... He paints with a full brush and uses four or five pure colors; he juxtaposes or superimposes the unmixed paints on the canvas..." In addition to Monet, Jeanniot also befriended other French artists Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Edgar Degas, and Edouard Manet.

Before he retired from military service as an infantry major in order to fully commit to painting around 1881, Jeanniot was a Légion d'Honneur awarded Franco-Prussian War veteran and career officer. Presumably, then, Jeanniot had used his military connections to influence "the Marshal," that is, Marshal François Certain de Canrobert (1809-1895), a veteran of the Crimean War, Franco-Prussian War, and conquest of Algeria. The Marshal, then a Senator from Charente, could in turn lobby important decision-makers on Jean's behalf.

Other military personnel mentioned in Monet's letter included his son's commanding officer, "General du Guiny." Edmond Louis du Guiny (1828-1914) commanded the Third Corps of the French Army from February 1888 to October 1893.

Claude Monet is considered a foundational figure in the artistic movement known as Impressionism; indeed, his 1872 painting entitled "Impression, Sunrise" inadvertently gave its name to the artistic school. No subject was too mundane for the Impressionists; to them, a haystack coated in frost or a pair of battered old shoes could be imbued with the same significance as a religious painting or an historical scene. Impressionists painted quickly, often using rapid and fluid brush strokes. In this way, their work was much more spontaneous, in spirit and form, than those sanctioned by the Academy. Monet's unique handwriting, with its series of disconnected vertical lines and flowing direction, resembles painting in more ways than traditional writing.

Claude Monet lived at Giverny, a village in Normandy located 76 km north of Paris, between 1883 and his death in 1926. During his residency there, Monet added a studio, expanded his gardens, and constructed a Japanese-inspired footbridge. His home was a combination of sophisticated and rustic; in the kitchen furnished with plain table and chairs, the yellow-painted walls were decorated with vivid Japanese woodblock prints.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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