The parish priest Ramonet: "I left for the Ile de Sein with a book on Gurdjieff that was supposed to get me back into shape. I barely looked at it. Thanks to Felix Guilcher, a real, lyrical and discreet hero, a rare friend discovered over there, to a Parish Priest, and to all the islanders, more islander than Breton, I soon felt quite at home, something quite unexpected, indeed inconceivable. Happy and calm, I was protected from the distant continent by a superb and pitiless sea. On Sein, I finally told myself "they'll never get me!". I'll never be able to repay my debt to the Sein Islanders for what they gave me

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The parish priest Ramonet: "I left for the Ile de Sein with a book on Gurdjieff that was supposed to get me back into shape. I barely looked at it. Thanks to Felix Guilcher, a real, lyrical and discreet hero, a rare friend discovered over there, to a Parish Priest, and to all the islanders, more islander than Breton, I soon felt quite at home, something quite unexpected, indeed inconceivable. Happy and calm, I was protected from the distant continent by a superb and pitiless sea. On Sein, I finally told myself "they'll never get me!". I'll never be able to repay my debt to the Sein Islanders for what they gave me
The parish priest Ramonet: "I left for the Ile de Sein with a book on Gurdjieff that was supposed to get me back into shape. I barely looked at it. Thanks to Felix Guilcher, a real, lyrical and discreet hero, a rare friend discovered over there, to a Parish Priest, and to all the islanders, more islander than Breton, I soon felt quite at home, something quite unexpected, indeed inconceivable. Happy and calm, I was protected from the distant continent by a superb and pitiless sea. On Sein, I finally told myself "they'll never get me!". I'll never be able to repay my debt to the Sein Islanders for what they gave me
Artist/Maker (French, 1921 – 2004)
Date1956
MediumVintage gelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall: 6 × 9 1/8 in. (15.2 × 23.2 cm) Image: 6 × 9 1/8 in. (15.2 × 23.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Thomas J. Wilson and Jill M. Garling, P2016
Object number2022.15.197
Not on view
Collections

Additional Details

Provenance 2022: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art)
Provenance: from the collection of Charles-Henri Favrod, the founding director of the Musée de l'Elysée de la Photographie in Lausanne, Switzerland
Markings Verso, bottom left (blue stamp): "TIRAGE POUR / REPRODUCTION / SEULEMENT / VENTE INTERDITE"
Verso, center (blue stamp): "© Jean-Philippe CHARBONNIER / 1, Rue du Pent Louis-Philipe. 75004 PARIS / Tel. 277,37,73 FRANCE"
Verso, bottom center: "PRIERE DE RETOURNER A PLEASE RETURN TO"
Published References Illustrated: Charbonnier, Jean-Philippe. Jean-Philippe Charbonnier - Photographs. Musee D'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1983, pl. 140
Inscribed Verso, top center: "FCC F 851"
Verso, top center: "1956 / ISLANDO / SEIN (Brittany)"
Verso, top center: "2226 / 27"
Verso, bottom left: "JC-F-12 3500"
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Medium: Archival inkjet print
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