Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff

Dieppe

Also known as: Dieppe

Place places/travel Comprehensive Updated: 2026-05-25
Show in diary 113 mentions

Research Status: Comprehensive Last Updated: 2026-05-25 Diary Coverage: Incidental mentions 1873, 1875; principal stay August--September 1879 (carnet 086); retrospective mentions 1880--1882 (carnets 087, 089, 090, 093, 096) References: ~115 across diary (23 entries with location: Dieppe)

Overview

Dieppe is a coastal town in Normandy, northern France, on the English Channel. In the late 19th century it was France's oldest and most aristocratic seaside resort, a mandatory summer destination for Parisian high society and international visitors. For Marie Bashkirtseff, Dieppe was the site of a three-week stay in August--September 1879, prescribed by her doctor as a sea bathing cure for her respiratory ailments. It became a theatre of social performance, plein air painting, boredom, and her characteristic ambivalence about being anywhere other than Paris.

Historical Context

France's First Seaside Resort

Dieppe's transformation into a fashionable bathing resort began in 1824, when Marie-Caroline, Duchess of Berry -- daughter-in-law of King Charles X -- selected it for her summer holiday and launched the fashion of sea bathing among the French aristocracy. The Duchess stayed for about six weeks annually from 1824 to 1829, accompanied by members of the Court, their domestic staff, and artists including Rossini. Though sea bathing had existed at Dieppe since at least 1812 (when a local resident Jean-Baptiste de Paris founded the first bathing establishment), the Duchess's patronage turned it into a matter of aristocratic fashion.

The practice itself was initially therapeutic rather than recreational. Bathers -- mostly women -- were fully clothed in woollen garments and vigorously dunked by professional "dippers" (baigneurs) facing the waves. The first bathing establishment at Dieppe eventually became a casino and then a small Italian-style theatre, as the seafront filled with grand hotels and elegant villas. The growing trend for seaside bathing reached its height during the Belle Epoque, when bathing costumes became more practical and the experience shifted from medical ordeal to fashionable recreation.

Railway and Cross-Channel Connections

In 1848, Dieppe was connected directly to Paris by railway, making it accessible in about four hours -- a convenience Marie herself noted when choosing it over the distant Mont-Dore. The same year, the last King of France, Louis Philippe I, fled through Dieppe to Newhaven, England. In 1853, a regular ferry service was established between the two ports, operated jointly by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the French State Railway. By the 1870s, steamers ran twice daily in summer and nightly in winter, making Dieppe the shortest link between London and Paris, and the primary gateway for English tourists to France.

The Resort in the 1870s--1880s

Cook's Handbook for Normandy (1883) described Dieppe as "Very aristocratic and dear" -- "the most fashionable bathing resort, being frequented by the most aristocratic families, and during the season everything commands famine prices." Board ran 10--11 francs per day (among the highest on the Normandy coast, comparable to Trouville and Deauville). The beach was "of shingle, and about three quarters of a mile in length." Cook's noted that "Two hours will suffice to see all that is worth seeing" -- a judgment Marie would have endorsed.

The resort's infrastructure by the late 1870s included:
- Hotels: The Hôtel Royal (the "véritable centre élégant de Dieppe," as Marie called it) and the Hôtel Bristol (where Marie actually stayed -- "de premier ordre" but not the social centre)
- Casino de Dieppe: The first casino was established in 1822; after Napoleon III's visit in 1853 it became a fashionable destination. The casino hosted gambling, concerts, and balls. A new Moorish-style casino opened on 15 June 1886
- Beach and promenade: Pebble beach with bathing-machines drawn to the water's edge
- Horse racing: The Hippodrome de Dieppe at Rouxmesnil held flat races from the 1850s; three race days per year from 1879 onward. The Prix Amphitrite and Grand Criterium were created in 1875
- Excursions: Carriages to the Château d'Arques, Pourville, the lighthouse at Ailly, Tréport, and Saint-Valery

The English Connection

Dieppe's proximity to England -- the closest major French port to the English coast -- gave it a distinctly cosmopolitan character. British visitors flocked across the Channel by ferry, and French and English society mingled on the beach, at the casino, and in the hotels. The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) was a regular visitor, and his presence -- along with that of his rumored lovers, including the Princesse de Sagan -- made Dieppe a nexus of Anglo-French high society. Marie encountered this world directly at the races on August 22, 1879.

Sea Bathing as Medical Therapy

By the 1870s, thalassotherapy -- the therapeutic use of seawater and marine climate -- was an established branch of French medicine. The concept had been formalized in 1865 by Dr. Jacques de la Bonnardière, who coined the term from the Greek thalassa (sea). The first warm-water spa at Dieppe had opened in 1822, and by mid-century sea bathing was prescribed by physicians for conditions ranging from respiratory ailments to nervous disorders. Marie's doctor, Krishaber, offered her a choice between Mont-Dore (a thermal spa in the Auvergne for respiratory problems) and the sea. She chose Dieppe because "le Mont-Dore est loin, Dieppe est tout près, les Karageorgevitch sont à Dieppe" (086.0066) -- medical necessity tempered by social calculation and convenience, as was typical of her.

Dieppe and the Impressionists

Dieppe attracted an extraordinary succession of painters throughout the 19th century, becoming what one art historian called "the painter's resort." Turner painted The Harbour of Dieppe (c. 1826); Eugene Boudin worked there in the 1860s; Paul Gauguin painted Women Bathing at Dieppe and Dieppe Harbour in 1885; Jacques-Emile Blanche painted the beach in front of the casino (c. 1886); Claude Monet painted the coastal cliffs near Dieppe (1897); and Camille Pissarro painted some of his last works there in 1901--1902, working from upper-floor hotel rooms due to his eye problems. Walter Sickert first visited in 1885 during his honeymoon and returned repeatedly for decades, painting the town's churches, harbor, and streets, and developing his distinctive style under the influence of Degas.

Marie herself was there primarily as a painter, not merely a society visitor. She produced plein air studies on the beach -- at least twelve studies during her three-week stay -- painted portraits (a "pochade d'Alexis" in one hour, 086.0087), and worked outdoors in the morning painting "mère Justin," a 73-year-old sand seller, until rain drove her indoors (086.0117). She showed her Dieppe pochades to Julian upon returning to Paris, and gave a marine painting made at Dieppe to Hecht, who was "si fou" about it (raw carnet 13). Her engagement with Dieppe as a painting site thus overlapped chronologically with the Impressionists' own discovery of the Normandy coast.

Marie's Dieppe Stay (1879)

The Decision and Arrival (August 12--13)

Marie traveled to Dieppe on the evening of August 12, 1879, arriving at 1 AM on August 13. The decision had been characteristically impulsive. Dr. Krishaber had prescribed either Mont-Dore or the sea; Marie chose Dieppe for proximity and society. Then, just as they were boarding the omnibus for the station, Blanc appeared and was recruited on the spot: "Blanc! venez avec nous!" -- "Je veux bien mais c'est bien loin de Mont-Dore, si c'était Dieppe..." -- "Eh bien va pour Dieppe, ce sera drôle" (086.0065--086.0067).

Her first impression was devastating. Comparing the Channel coast to the Mediterranean she loved, Marie found all northern seaside towns identical: "Est-ce que toutes ces villes de mer sont les mêmes? J'ai été à Ostende, à Calais, à Douvres et je suis à Dieppe. Cela sent le goudron, le bateau, les cordages, la toile cirée. Il fait du vent, on est exposé de tous côtés et l'on se sent en détresse. Cela sent le mal de mer. Quelle différence avec la Méditerranée. Là on respire, là il y a quoi admirer, là on est bien" (086.0069). She preferred green spa towns like Soden and Schlangenbad to this "aride Dieppe."

Hotels: Bristol vs. Royal

Marie stayed at the Hôtel Bristol, which she acknowledged was "de premier ordre" but lamented could not compare to the Hôtel Royal -- "le véritable centre élégant de Dieppe" -- where she dined with Zurlo and Da Costa (086.0103). The wrong hotel, the wrong wardrobe ("Je n'ai que des robes blanches trop légères pour la brise de la mer et qui paraîtraient ridicules sur la plage"), the persistent bad luck she called her "guignon" -- Marie's Dieppe stay began with characteristic frustration at being slightly off-centre in social geography.

Social Life and Boredom

The social circle that assembled around Marie at Dieppe included the Karageorgevitch princes (Bojidar and Alexis), Da Costa, Zurlo, de Plancy, and Blanc. Her mother and Dina provided the family chaperonage she found suffocating.

Despite the social company, boredom was the dominant note: "On s'ennuie à Dieppe. Il y a bien à l'hôtel quelques jeunes gens étrangers de Paris qui s'intéressent à nous et qui s'ennuient de leur côté; mais nous ne nous connaissons pas" (086.0087). Marie observed that Dieppe's young Parisian men recognized her family from the Bois de Boulogne but without formal introductions, nothing could happen. She felt "abrutie" (stupefied) and professed complete indifference: "Que je sois entourée d'hommes ou de chiens, cela m'est parfaitement égal."

The Races (August 22)

The Dieppe races were the social climax of the season, and Marie's description of them (August 22, 086.0119--086.0124) produced some of her finest character sketches. She saw the Princesse de Sagan (née Seillière) up close -- the classic example of finance marrying aristocracy. Despite general opinion that she was ugly, Marie found her "une des plus ravissantes femmes que j'aie vues" -- tall, graceful despite thinness, with golden chestnut hair, pale complexion, gray eyes, and a "distinctively noble aquiline nose." She was rumored to be the Prince of Wales's lover. Marie invoked Balzac -- these women reminded her of his Comédie humaine characters.

The Casino and Concerts

The Casino de Dieppe served as the social hub of the resort -- gambling, concerts, and balls. On September 2, Marie attended a grand concert where Camillo Sivori, the famous Italian violinist and student of Paganini, "a joué comme un ange" (086.0206). After the concert there was a grand ball, but Marie left early. Her mother and Dina "sont restées au Casino avec Mme de Martellet et ses deux filles, des gens du monde."

Marie's ambivalence about resort entertainment was perfectly captured in her dismissal of "musiques, plages, Casino et autres abrutissements des villes d'été" (086.0206) -- and her simultaneous admission that "Je commence à jouir de Dieppe à la veille du départ."

Sea Bathing

Marie took her first sea bath on August 19 (086.0105): "J'ai pris mon premier bain de mer et tout cela ensemble fait que je voudrais bien avoir une excuse pour pleurer." The bathing was therapeutic -- prescribed by Krishaber -- but Marie characteristically folded it into her emotional landscape. On September 2, near the end of her stay, she bathed again and painted in the afternoon (086.0206): "J'ai pris un bain de mer et j'ai peint l'après-midi."

Painting at Dieppe

Despite her professed boredom, Marie was productive as a painter during her Dieppe stay. She:
- Made a quick portrait sketch (pochade) of Alexis Karageorgevitch "très ressemblante et très vite, en une heure" (086.0087)
- Painted outdoors on the beach, including a portrait of "mère Justin," a 73-year-old mother of 19 children who sold sand, attracting a crowd of onlookers that she ignored until soldiers arrived for beach exercises and rain interrupted (086.0117)
- Produced at least twelve studies: "J'ai déjà douze études à emporter" (086.0206)
- Made a marine painting that she later gave to Hecht, who was "si fou" about it
- Showed her Dieppe pochades to Julian on her return to Paris, spending two hours discussing painting, politics, and Cassagnac

Marie valued these plein air studies as adding "chic" to her studio work, while consciously avoiding the affected artistic posturing of talentless painters. Her engagement with the Dieppe landscape was practical rather than romantic -- she was there to work, not to pose as an artist.

Departure (September 3--5)

Marie left Dieppe on September 3 or thereabouts, reaching Paris by September 5: "Après deux jours agréablement passés nous avons quitté Dieppe" (086.0212). Back in Paris, she went driving in the Bois de Boulogne with Berthe and was "beaucoup amusés aussi de revoir des figures de Dieppe" (086.0214) -- the familiar faces from the resort reappearing in the Paris social scene, as they always did after the summer season ended.

Retrospective References

Dieppe continued to surface in the diary long after Marie's departure:
- January 19, 1880 (087.0273): Remembering Hecht's behavior "à Dieppe au casino" -- his indiscreet remarks about the de Lesseps salon that caused the family social damage
- August 19, 1880 (089.0384): Mocking newspaper coverage of Trouville and Dieppe resort life in Le Figaro and Le Gaulois -- the purple prose about "blanches robes qui semblent de loin des apparitions fantastiques" on the moonlit beach
- August 22, 1880 (089.0401): Learning that Bailleul encountered Berthe at the Dieppe races with Mme de Plancy
- September 21, 1880 (089.0589): Berthe visits Marie and claims she was "mourante à Dieppe et n'est jamais allée au Casino ni nulle part" -- contradicting gossip in the Gaulois about her behavior with "le petit Blanc"
- December 11, 1880 (090.0301): "Les de Lesseps, Hecht, Dieppe, je ne sais quoi encore forment un horrible chaos dans ma tête et je ne sais que fondre en larmes" -- Dieppe remembered as part of the tangle of social disasters
- December 19, 1880 (090.0387): "Berthe est à l'index et qu'elle s'est si affichée à Dieppe avec Blanc" -- Berthe's Dieppe scandal continued to circulate
- September 1, 1881 (093.0040): Saint Amand arrives from Dieppe for dinner; incidental mention
- September 19, 1881 (093.0059): "On l'a bien fait pour Berthe à Dieppe" -- recalling how Berthe was passed off as a guest during their Dieppe stay
- August 4, 1882 (096.0013): "Je voudrais y aller pour trois semaines au lieu de Dieppe ou Trouville" -- Dieppe as a generic summer resort option she might replace with something better

Pre-1879 Mentions

- August 18, 1873 (008.0075): Marie reads about horse races at Dieppe in the newspaper, looking for news of the Duke of Hamilton -- her first mention of the town, entirely incidental to her obsession with Hamilton
- September 26, 1875 (045.0035): "Pâris a rapporté de Dieppe un très joli jeu, les courses" -- Pâris brings back a parlor game from Dieppe

Significance in the Diary

Dieppe represented several intersecting themes for Marie:
- Medical necessity vs. artistic ambition: The sea cure was prescribed by Krishaber for her respiratory problems, pulling her away from her painting at the Académie Julian. She turned the interruption into productive plein air work, but resented the exile from Paris
- Social geography of resort life: Hotels (Bristol vs. Royal), the Casino, the races, the promenade -- Dieppe was a microcosm of Parisian society transplanted to the coast, with all its hierarchies intact. Marie navigated it with her usual mixture of sharp observation and frustrated ambition
- Mediterranean vs. Channel: Marie's visceral dislike of the northern coast -- its smell of tar and oilcloth, its grey skies and wind -- expressed her deeper Mediterranean identity. Born in Poltava but raised in Nice, she always preferred the south
- Painting site: Dieppe was where Marie worked as a plein air painter, producing studies she valued enough to show Julian and give to friends. Her presence there coincided with the broader Impressionist discovery of the Normandy coast
- Social scandal reservoir: Through the Berthe/Blanc affair and the Hecht/Lesseps debacle, Dieppe became a source of lingering social damage that followed Marie back to Paris

Key People Encountered at Dieppe

- #Karageorgevitch -- Bojidar and Alexis, the princes who drew Marie to Dieppe; their mother treated them like small children
- #Blanc -- Impulsive companion recruited at the last moment; later the center of Berthe's scandal
- #Da_Costa_Motta -- Brazilian gentleman, "assez gentil, bien élevé"
- #Zurlo -- Part of Marie's Dieppe social circle
- #Plancy -- M. de Plancy, occasional companion
- #Princess_de_Sagan -- Seen at the races, subject of Marie's most vivid portrait sketch
- #Sivori -- Camillo Sivori, violinist who performed at the Casino concert
- #Hecht -- Connection to Gambetta's political circle; his indiscretions at Dieppe caused lasting social damage

Related Entries

- #Casino_de_Dieppe -- The social center of the resort
- #Paris -- The city Marie was exiled from during her cure
- #Nice -- Winter resort equivalent in the south; the Mediterranean Marie preferred
- #Thermal_Cure -- The broader context of therapeutic travel
- #Julian -- The Académie to which Marie returned with her Dieppe studies
- #Krishaber -- The doctor who prescribed the sea cure
- #Berthe -- Whose Dieppe scandals haunted the social circle
- #Trouville -- Rival Normandy resort, the more popular alternative

Sources