Catalogue Entry
This painting was purchased by Smith College directly from Twachtman. In 1947, the college sold the painting, and its current location is unknown. Its title identifies its site as the Béthune River, a narrow waterway that winds through the countryside of Arques-la-Bataille. The painting depicts the same site as the larger Springtime (OP.725), for which it was probably the basis. However, Twachtman signed this work, indicating that he did not consider it just a study. In both paintings, the viewpoint is across a river that forms a broad curve before turning inland, its continued movement left implied. Twachtman's low angle may have had an impact on the scale in the landscape, perhaps making the embankment appear steeper and the hills closer than they were actuality. Near the bend in the river, a solitary home is set into the land, marking the intersection of tall trees near the river bank and the turn in the river. Additional trees along the river bank, bearing just a few leaves, are more suggestive of fall than spring. Fall would be consistent with Twachtman’s visit to Arques-la-Bataille, which occurred in the summer and early fall of 1884. No works exhibited by Twachtman in his lifetime can be linked with this painting and the origin of the word "Brette" in its title is unknown and was not used by the artist.
In 1915, Smith College lent the painting to the Panama Pacific International Exhibition. Its purchaser from the college in 1947 was Gimbel Brothers, New York, and its last known owner was a private collector in Rhode Island, who still owned it at the time Hale completed his dissertation in 1957.