Mourning
Charles Cottet
Hans Thoma the museum director
United in grief
This peaceful, sensitive painting tells a sad story. A woman and a young girl, perhaps seven years old, are holding each other in their arms.
They are perfectly still. Yet rather than gazing at one another, they seem lost in their own thoughts, each initially alone with their own feelings. Nevertheless, we can sense how much they need to be close.
A sailor’s death
French artist Charles Cottet has arranged the two figures, depicted in traditional black Breton costumes, in a compact triangular shape. They support each other, both literally and figuratively.
Behind them, the landscape opens up to reveal a rugged coastline with fishing boats arriving or putting out to sea. Night is falling over the bay. The sky is slightly overcast, the sea completely calm. The handkerchief in the girl’s hand stands for the tears of the bereaved. Evidently, the man of the family has not returned from fishing.
The waters around the islands of Finistère, where this work was painted, were considered especially treacherous and took the lives of many fishermen. This painting by Charles Cottet marks the start of a long series of his works devoted to the theme of bereavement. Described as an artist of great sensitivity, in this case he was not so much depicting a specific family as portraying a universal symbol for bereavement.
As if in an eternal cycle, the fishermen set out to sea generation after generation, not just economically dependent on the sea, but also having to face its perils. Here, these two pictorial levels are combined to evoke the entire spectrum of bereavement – not just death but also life, love, loneliness and the drama of events, as well as equanimity and strength.
In this work, religious faith plays a subordinate role. Although Cottet does not exclude the possibility of mourners finding a connection to God, his composition lacks any clear symbol of the divine as a sign of solace through a belief in an afterlife. Instead, he focuses on the mortal world. The bereaved mother and child may not be lamenting their fate, yet he subtly suggests just how difficult their lives might be afterwards.
Thoma and mourning
Under the dual title Mourning – Sunset over a Seaport, this poignant picture was first shown in Karlsruhe in 1902, ten years after it was painted. That year Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his rule.
The festivities included a major exhibition on Karlsruhe’s Festplatz square in a pavilion with a church-like floor plan. This specially constructed gallery showed in particular German contemporary painting, prints, sculpture and craft works, with art from Baden occupying nearly one third of the space.
Smaller sections were dedicated to European developments, primarily in Belgium, England and France. A central committee chaired by the artist Ludwig Dill, a professor at the Grand Ducal School of Art, selected the art works. The deputy chair was Hans Thoma, a fellow-artist and director of the Grand Ducal Art Gallery. A small room at the exhibition was dedicated to Thoma’s own oeuvre.
Thanks to a remarkably generous budget, Thoma could purchase numerous works from the Jubilee exhibition for the Grand Duke’s gallery. For instance, in the mid-price segment he bought Cottet’s symbolist picture for 3000 marks. But this was a work Thoma appreciated for more than just its artistic value.
He was himself deep in mourning for Cella, his wife of many years and his artistic companion. Cottet’s painting belongs to the few French art works acquired under Thoma. Undoubtedly, though, his reservations towards French art stemmed primarily from political considerations after the Franco-Prussian War. For Thoma himself, a trip to Paris as a young man had left a permanent and profound mark on his artistic development.
Basic data
| Title | Mourning |
|---|---|
| Artist | Charles Cottet |
| Date | 1872 |
| Measurements Plastic | H 72cm W 91cm |
| Material | Oil on canvas |