Albert Marquet

Boris J. Fize, Paris (acquired circa 1930 and until at least 1976)
Irène Ozanne-Fize, Paris (by descent from the above)
Private Collection
Galerie Schmit, Paris
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above)

Moscow, Exposition Riabouchinsky, La Toison d'Or, 1909, no. 83
Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Albert Marquet, 1948, no. 21
Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Le Fauvisme, 1951, no. 87, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Galerie Bernier, La Vie représentée: 1890-1955, 1955
Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Depuis Bonnard, 1957, no. 121
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Les Fauves, 1962, no. 87, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Galerie Knoedler & Cie, L'Héritage de Delacroix, 1964, no. 21, illustrated in the catalogue 
Paris, Galerie Schmit, Cent ans de peinture française, 1969, no. 81, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
London, Royal Academy of Art, French Paintings since 1900, 1969, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Bordeaux, Galerie des Beaux-Arts & Paris, Orangerie des Tuileries, Albert Marquet, 1975-76, no. 21, illustrated in colour in the catalogue (as dating from 1905)
New York, The Museum of Modern Art; San Francisco, Museum of Art & Fort Worth, Kimbell Museum, Fauvism, The 'Wild Beast' and its Affinities, 1976, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art & New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Fauve Landscape, 1990-91, no. 108, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Nagoya, Aichi Museum of Art; Kyoto, National Museum of Modern Art & Tokyo, Museum of Modern Art, Fauvism and Modern Japanese Painting, 1992-93, no. 39, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Sydney, The Art Gallery of New South Wales & Melbourne, The National Gallery of Victoria, Fauves, 1995-96, no. 66, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (on loan May-August 2001)

La Toison d'Or, Moscow, 1919, no. 2, illustrated p. 4
Revue Art, 6th July 1951, illustrated p. 4
Joseph-Emile Muller, Le Fauvisme, 1956, illustrated in colour p. 41
Joseph-Emile Muller, Le Fauvisme, 1967, no. 85, illustrated in colour p. 93
Gaston Diehl, The Fauves, New York, 1971, illustrated in colour p. 99

The canvas is unlined. There is a tiny spot of retouching at the centre of the extreme top edge, and two hairlines of retouching to the white area in the centre, and some scattered tiny spots of retouching covering canvas grain, visible under ultra-violet light. Apart from very minor hairlines of craquelure, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate, although slightly fresher in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted at the height of Marquet's involvement with the Fauves, the present work is a wonderfully vibrant image of the beach at Sainte-Adresse, with its fashionably dressed strollers scattered around the beach and on the jetty. In July and August of 1906 Marquet travelled in the company of Raoul Dufy along the Normandy coast, each artist exploring in his own way the expressive potential of colour and form evoked by the scenes they encountered in the popular resorts of Le Havre and Sainte-Adresse.

 

Judi Freeman wrote about the present work: 'The canvas is divided into three separate zones: the foreground beach, treated largely in brown tones, the white middle ground extending beneath the jetty, and the mottled blue of the sky. The most complex area, the jetty itself, was probably panted first; the figures in this zone are rendered in the greatest detail. Colour is used judiciously as an accent; the umbrellas and dresses, for example, receive the most luminous colour. The green path dividing the middleground, the green and white supports of the jetty, and the blue and brown of the jetty walkway provide the framework for the picture's composition' (J. Freeman in Fauves (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., 1995, p. 182).

 

Marquet himself chose the present work, together with another two, for the Toison d'Or exhibition held in Moscow in 1909, which was one of the first exhibitions to introduce Fauve art to Russian audiences.