Monet-Auburtin, Une rencontre artistique. Sur les falaises entre Pourville et Dieppe. Le val Saint-Nicolas

On January 15, 1907, Auburtin bought a piece of land in Varengeville. He had his house and studio built there.
He then set out climbing the high cliffs in search of interesting viewpoints. He painted the cliffs of Varengeville, Pourville, and Dieppe.
Like Monet, Auburtin enjoyed the rolling landscape of the cliffs between Varengeville and Dieppe.

In 1896 and 1897, Monet was based in Pourville, where he painted from the Dieppe cliffs. This spectacular view of the Atlantic from Val Saint-Nicolas is a recurrent motif in Monet's 1897 works.
The artist's desire was to capture the fleeting effects of light and to show how they transform the landscape. In ten years, Monet's painting evolved toward a greater simplification of forms. His interest was in the effects of light that change according to the time of day.

Auburtin sought to translate the meeting point between the land, sea, and sky in his works. Val Saint-Nicolas was one of the artist's favorite spots. He went on to paint a series of works there, trying to capture a moment of the day when the setting sun casts a pink tint on the sky and on the chalky whiteness of the cliffs.

For Auburtin, the monumental nature of the cliffs often gave way to the power of expression of the elements and clouds.