Eva Gonzalès
, French, 1849-1883
Title
Children on the Sand Dunes, GrandcampDate1877-1878
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
46 x 56 cm
Signedlower left: Eva Gonzales [Atelier Stamp]
Credit LinePurchased, 1972 (Shaw Fund)
Object numberNGI.4050
DescriptionEva Gonzalès grew up in an artistic family; her father was a writer and her mother a musician. She attended the classes for women taught by the society portrait painter Charles Chaplin and exhibited at the Salon in 1870. She met Edouard Manet in 1869, modelled for him and became his only formal pupil. Although today she is often grouped with the Impressionists, Gonzalès, like Manet, declined to exhibit at their independent exhibitions, preferring to show her work at the Salon. Her oeuvre consists mostly of portraits, still lifes and scenes from contemporary life. Gonzalès painted this scene while visiting the seaside resort of Grandcamp in Normandy. It depicts two local children at the verge of a coastal path. A basket of fish rests beside them; as though a still life within the genre scene. The composition is dominated by areas of sand and grass, while a pale line of blue marks the high horizon. Gonzalès had painted scenes at Dieppe in 1871, where she moved from Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. This scene is executed in a much looser, sketchier manner indicative of the influence that Manet’s teaching had upon her style and technique in the intervening years. March 2016
ProvenanceM. Jean-Raymond Guérard-Gonzalès, son of the Artist; Galerie Jacques Daber, Paris where purchased 1972, by the National Gallery of Ireland. Exhibition HistoryFrench 19th and 20th Century Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland: Corot to Picasso, Daimaru Museum, Tokyo, 5 September-17 September 1996; Daimaru Museum, Kyoto, 10 October-22 October 1996; Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi, 26 October-2 December 1996; Daimaru Museum, Umeda, Osaka, 22 January-9 February 1997; Aomori Municipal Gallery of Art, Aomori, 2 April-20 April 1997
Paintings from the Hugh Lane Bequest, The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, 5 May 2006 – 5 September 2006
Eva Gonzalès Is What Dublin Needs, The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, 1 June - 18 September 2022
Impressionism and its Overlooked Women, Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund, 9 February 2024 - 20 May 2024
Women Impressionists, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 27 June - 6 October 2024
Label TextGonzalès painted this scene at the seaside resort of Grandcamp in Normandy. It depicts local children by the verge of a coastal path. A basket of fish rests beside them. Areas of sand and grass dominate the composition, while a pale blue line marks the high horizon. Gonzalès was Edouard Manet’s only formal pupil. Her loose sketchy brushwork shows the influence of his teaching. Although Gonzalès associated with the Impressionists, she, like Manet, preferred to show her work at the Salon rather than at their independent exhibitions.