Artwork
View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme
View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The piece is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, having been owned by Robert Lehman, and is documented as a landscape painting by the artist.
The painting presents a view of the coastal town of Saint‑Valéry‑sur‑Somme, rendered as a landscape in oil on canvas in 1896. It depicts the town’s architecture and surrounding terrain, classifying the work as a landscape genre. The composition reflects Degas’s interest in everyday scenes and atmospheric effects, offering a realistic yet poetic representation of the locale.
The piece is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, having been owned by Robert Lehman, and is documented as a landscape painting by the artist.
Technique & Style
View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for Degas's late landscape production. The painting measures 50.8 cm in height by 61 cm in width, a modest horizontal format suited to its topographical subject. Classified as a landscape, the work translates the coastal town and surrounding terrain into painted form through the medium's capacity for layered color and modulated light.
Beyond these fundamental material and dimensional facts, the available sources do not provide further detail on Degas's handling, brushwork, surface condition, or specific stylistic qualities.
History & Provenance
View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme is an oil painting on canvas created by Edgar Degas in 1896, measuring 50.8 by 61 centimeters. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was owned by Robert Lehman, indicating its inclusion within the Robert Lehman Collection housed at the museum. No further details regarding an initial commission, intermediate ownership transfers, or earlier provenance prior to Robert Lehman's acquisition are documented in the available sources.
Edgar Degas's 1896 oil painting, View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work, which depicts a town landscape on canvas, was originally owned by Robert Lehman before entering the museum's holdings. While the source material confirms the artwork's current location and its previous private ownership, it does not provide a specific accession or inventory number for the piece.
Furthermore, the available documentation regarding the painting's history does not list any specific exhibitions in which the work has been displayed.
Context
Created in 1896, View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme represents Edgar Degas's engagement with the landscape genre, a departure from his primary reputation for ballet and interior scenes. This oil-on-canvas work, measuring 50.8 by 61 centimeters, depicts the town of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme and is currently held in the Robert Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While Degas is historically defined by his urban subjects and figures, this painting situates him within the broader Impressionist exploration of coastal and rural vistas during the late 19th century.
The work's inclusion in a major public institution underscores its significance as a documented example of the artist's versatility beyond his most famous motifs.
Overview
Edgar Degas produced View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme in 1898, an oil painting depicting a coastal settlement. This landscape work, now part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, showcases a departure from his more common figural compositions. The scene captures a tranquil moment, characterized by its distinctive color palette and textural application of paint.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas on 19 July 1834 in Paris, Edgar Degas came from an affluent banking family with aristocratic roots and spent his childhood among the cultivated circles of the French capital.
