Saturday, 17 September 1881

So far none of those supreme elegances I have been dreaming of seeing at Biarritz for three years… As for the beach from an artistic point of view — it is disagreeable and ugly. Oh Bay of Nice, oh Gulf of Naples! But even the little beaches around Nice, Èze, Beaulieu and so on… Here one is vexed by a jumble of little rocks thrown down pell-mell; it has the look of cardboard stage sets placed there deliberately; the beach is small, to the right the lighthouse, to the left a rock, and beyond these two ramparts, enormous deserted beaches. The site is cluttered without being picturesque; not a single house truly at the water's edge, one must be always climbing and descending. And then I explored the surroundings for two hours by carriage and could not find the shadow of a subject — not a fisherman, not a hut; just pine trees, villas, high roads. [Words blacked out: To dinner a whole] company — the Martinoff ladies (from Naples — you will recall), their aunt, then the Basilevitch and another. After having been on friendly terms with the Basilevitch, we no longer even greet each other. It was she who stopped greeting us, I believe. In short!… The disgust of it all rising and seizing me by the throat… Better to go to Spain: I shall see the paintings, make a few copies, perhaps find a subject, in any case some studies. Yes — to spend a month or six weeks with almost no luggage, unknown, undisturbed. Two acquaintances: the Duc de la Conquista (from the time when Maman went into society at Nice) and little Zurlo, whom we find at the Palais Biarritz — a new hotel created out of the former villa Eugénie.¹ Poor woman. But her villa is nothing but a barracks — the Second Empire was as anti-artistic as possible in all things. So this Palais Biarritz is a sort of casino where one can have everything one wants: music, theater, and infernal gambling. It is invaded by courtesans who run the bank… Zurlo tells us all this; the establishment has been enormously publicized, and my aunt was whining that I preferred our own hotel. By now I hope she no longer regrets it.