Evening Prayer or The Calvary, Rochefort-en-Terre

Ferdinand du Puigaudeau often painted night scenes such as this one, in which a young girl, seen from behind, stands before a calvary. The square is lit only by moonlight and by the artificial light spilling through the windows of a house opposite. The moon placed near the centre of the composition illuminates all that surrounds it. Puigaudeau’s visual memory allowed him to repeatedly paint the same scene, with variations. He painted his night scenes in his studio. The exploration of nocturnal light is a constant theme in his work. Two other rather similar versions of this painting exist, one on display at the Musee des Jocobins in Morlaix and the other at the Musee des beaux-arts, La Cohue in Vannes.