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Lot Essay
This work will be included in the forthcoming Albert Marquet Digital Catalogue Raisonné, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.
Born in Bordeaux in 1875, Marquet discovered his passion for drawing at an early age. His mother immediately recognized his skills and, contrary to his father’s wishes, insisted that she and Marquet move to Paris to further explore his artistic talent. Thereafter, Marquet enrolled in the Ecole nationale des arts décoratifs, where he would meet fellow artist Henri Matisse.
As a young student, Marquet developed a taste for contemplation as a result of spending time at the Louvre copying works by Claude Lorrain, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. It was through his rapid but nevertheless accurate sketches and drawings executed on the sidewalks of Paris that he developed his sense of movement. The hustle and bustle of Parisian life complemented what he learned in the museums and galleries, and it is this city energy which caused the avid traveler to always return to Paris.
When living in Paris, Marquet always ensured that his studio had a good view of the Seine so that he could paint the ever-changing appearance of the city on the water. Like Claude Monet, he sought to capture in his works the subtle changes in character of various buildings and bridges in different weather conditions, in particular the cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Pont-Neuf.
The present canvas depicts the Quai des Grands-Augustins surrounded by the Seine, with the great Haussmanian buildings and bridges in the background. François Daulte has written about the artist’s Paris pictures: “Here are Paris and its bridges freeing themselves through the light of the river; here is the Paris of trees sheltering the booksellers; here are the popular quarters with their fences covered with multi-coloured posters and their decaying houses...He drapes them in the sun of springtime or bathes them in the sad atmosphere of a winter's day, when the snow dribbles down on the quays and a fog, light and damp, hangs over the entire city” (Albert Marquet, Lausanne, 1988, p. 24).
Born in Bordeaux in 1875, Marquet discovered his passion for drawing at an early age. His mother immediately recognized his skills and, contrary to his father’s wishes, insisted that she and Marquet move to Paris to further explore his artistic talent. Thereafter, Marquet enrolled in the Ecole nationale des arts décoratifs, where he would meet fellow artist Henri Matisse.
As a young student, Marquet developed a taste for contemplation as a result of spending time at the Louvre copying works by Claude Lorrain, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. It was through his rapid but nevertheless accurate sketches and drawings executed on the sidewalks of Paris that he developed his sense of movement. The hustle and bustle of Parisian life complemented what he learned in the museums and galleries, and it is this city energy which caused the avid traveler to always return to Paris.
When living in Paris, Marquet always ensured that his studio had a good view of the Seine so that he could paint the ever-changing appearance of the city on the water. Like Claude Monet, he sought to capture in his works the subtle changes in character of various buildings and bridges in different weather conditions, in particular the cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Pont-Neuf.
The present canvas depicts the Quai des Grands-Augustins surrounded by the Seine, with the great Haussmanian buildings and bridges in the background. François Daulte has written about the artist’s Paris pictures: “Here are Paris and its bridges freeing themselves through the light of the river; here is the Paris of trees sheltering the booksellers; here are the popular quarters with their fences covered with multi-coloured posters and their decaying houses...He drapes them in the sun of springtime or bathes them in the sad atmosphere of a winter's day, when the snow dribbles down on the quays and a fog, light and damp, hangs over the entire city” (Albert Marquet, Lausanne, 1988, p. 24).