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Provenance: Oscar Ghez, Geneva (by 1964).
Trosby Gallery, Palm Beach (by 1967).
Anon. sale, Hôtel Rameau, Versailles, 4 June 1975, lot 73.
Anon. sale, Hôtel Rameau, Versailles, 24 October 1976, lot 174.
The Modern Art Foundation, Geneva; sale, Sotheby's, London, 4 July 1979, lot 224.
Acquired at the above sale by the late owner.

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Exhibited: Turin, Galleria Civica d'Arte moderna, 80 Pittori da Renoir à Kisling, February-April 1964, no. 74.

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Literature: M.J. Chartrain-Hebbelinck, "Le group des XX et La Libre Esthétique," Revue belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art (RBAHA), vol. XXXIV, nos. 1-2, 1965, pp. 121-122.
Arte Moderna, Milan, vol. III, p. 26.
Apollo, London, December 1967.
O. Ghez, A l'aube du XXe siècle, Geneva, 1968.
M. Ipas, Les peintres de Saint-Tropez, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, 1999, p. 46.
R. Feltkamp, Théo van Rysselberghe 1862-1926, Paris, 2003, p. 383, no. 1909-030 (illustrated; illustrated again in color, p. 188).

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Notes: PROPERTY FROM AN ENGLISH ESTATE

Théo van Rysselberghe introduced Neo-Impressionism to Belgium. While in Paris scouting for new talent to exhibit with Les XX, a circle of radical young Belgian artists which van Rysselberghe co-founded, he saw Georges Seurat's La Grande Jatte at the eighth Impressionist exhibition in 1886 (fig. 1). He was deeply influenced by the innovations of pointillism, and began to incorporate the technique into his work. As a fierce proponent of pointillism, he worked hard to "import" it into Belgium. He organized the exhibition of La Grande Jatte at the salon of Les XX in Brussels, however the work was met with fierce criticism. Van Rysselberghe's efforts were not entirely unnoticed however--he can be credited with influencing a number of Belgian and Dutch artists through his promotion of Neo-Impressionism, such as Jan Toorop and Piet Mondrian. The artist would largely abandon the style at the turn of the century, however its influence would remain visible in his work until his death in 1926.

Van Rysselberghe became close with two other painters of the Divisionist movement--Paul Signac and Henri-Edmond Cross. In 1896 he spent two months at Signac's home in Saint-Tropez, and the two artists traveled to the Netherlands together later that year. He often worked in Signac's studio in Paris. In 1898, however, they had a difference of opinion over the development of their art--van Rysselberghe wanted to concentrate more on nature and move away from what he began to see as a confining technique. The relationship became strained as van Rysselberghe abandoned the strict division of colors and lengthened his brushstrokes once again.

The artist's relationship with Henri-Edmond Cross, however, never faltered--even after his attempts to distance himself from the movement, he would still spend much time with Cross. From 1904 on, he would often stay at Cross' home in Saint-Clair, and they would explore the Côte d'Azur together. Van Rysselberghe was fascinated by the brilliant light of the Mediterranean coast and the wild countryside around Saint-Clair. As he explained in a letter to a friend that year:

...a few kilometers from where Cross lives, there is a small chalet at the edge of the water, near to or within a beautiful park: a true mine of motifs, where I will find plenty of sources to create decorative compositions--and where I will have, in addition, the opportunity to have models pose for me, something which is quite rare and much appreciated (quoted in R. Feltkamp, Théo van Rysselberghe, 1862-1926, Brussels, 2003, p. 185).

Indeed, the female nude is a prominent theme in the artist's late oeuvre, and one of his only late subjects aside from Mediterranean landscapes and portraits of his wife, daughter and brother. Between 1908-1910 van Rysselberghe focused on a series of female bathers; Baigneuses au Cap Benat is an elegant work from this series. Six young nudes enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the coast are engaged in conversation, particularly evidenced by the young woman on the left who turns around to either say something or respond to one of her contemporaries, as she heads towards the water. The females are classically painted, their bodies thick, solid and upright. Brightly colored drapery hangs off several of their bodies. One can still see traces of the pointillist technique in the grass, trees, water and sky, however the hues have been softened and the artist's brushstrokes have become longer, broader and more relaxed.

In comparison to Seurat's inspirational masterpiece of modern city dwellers, van Rysselberghe's subjects take a break from their day to enjoy the countryside. Van Rysselberghe employs a similar composition of land and water, just showing the viewer a glimpse of the water in the upper left corner of the composition. He takes the urban dwellers and moves them to the country, classicizing them in their state of undress and stylistic rendering. Where Seurat's composition can be understood as a statement about urban malaise, van Rysselberghe's can be read as a tribute to nature and the countryside he loved so much. The following year he asked his brother to build a studio for him, and settled on the land where he remained until his death.

Baigneuses au Cap Benat is likely a large scale oil study for van Rysselberghe's monumental 1910 composition with the same title in the collection of the Musée de Deinze et de la Lys (fig. 2). The composition is largely identical in the final rendering, with the addition of two new figures in the background, and the stretching woman's robe now falls open. In the later work the figures are delineated in more detail, with a crisper style. The present work is the most complete and fully rendered study for this painting, and gives us unique insight into the artist's working process. Van Rysselberghe's directness of vision and love of light forms what Maurice Denis called "an art of probity and reflection, with neither hesitations nor maladroitness, a realistic art, but with all the seductions of reality" (R.L. Herbert, Neo-Impressionism, exh. cat, Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1968).
(fig. 1) Georges Seurat, La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886. The Art Institute of Chicago.

(fig. 2) Theo van Rysselberghe, Baigneuses au cap Benat, 1910. Musée de Deinze et de la Lys, Deinze.