le mag Bel Œil

A proposal by Sandrine Mons.

Former artistic director, Perrine de la Bretesche has been devoted to photography since 2019… exploring the tensions between reality and abstraction. Her work questions our relationship with the environment. The artist lives and works in Nice.

THE CALL OF THE SEA:

This mysterious, intangible and immeasurable entity fascinates Perrine de la Bretesche.
The sea, this infinite landscape, scrutinised by fishermen and walkers alike, creates, under the effects of light and wind, a spectacle of endlessly renewed variations. The photographer’s images seem to translate the moods of this Mediterranean landscape that presents itself to her almost daily.

Her horizons – Ether (2025), Sillage (2024), Filigrane (2022) – capture both the ripples of water under wind and currents and the chromatic shifts of sea and sky. The artist loves to play with light effects, catching the moment when the sea becomes a mirror at the horizon or, on the contrary, the day when the azure turns milky white. If some images lean toward abstraction, it is to better evoke the famous oceanic feeling, that sensation of unity with the elements.
Perrine de la Bretesche’s horizons invite contemplation and introspection. They encourage us to slow down in a contemporary world that imposes an ever-faster pace.

The call of the sea leads her to vary the focal length. To get as close as possible to her subject, the artist alternates wide shots (horizons) with tight close-ups (“The Skin of the Sea”). In these, she captures the sparkle of sunlight on the water or the texture of the sea itself. Through this back-and-forth between near and far, she has succeeded in seizing what only the naked eye can perceive: the magic of the sea’s instability.

Élodie Antoine, art critic

Exhibition from 26 September 2025 to 3 January 2026.
Opening on Friday 3 October 2025 at 6 p.m.
In echo with Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez

Bel Œil Saint-Tropez
22 avenue Foch – 83990 Saint-Tropez