Albert Marquet

Robert Martinet
Private Collection, United Kingdom

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Marquet, 1972, no. 28
New York, Wildenstein & Co., Inc., Albert Marquet 1875-1947. Paintings, 1998

Jean-Claude Martinet & Guy Wildenstein, Marquet, L'Afrique du Nord, Catalogue de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 2001, no. I-110, illustrated
p. 144

Canvas is not lined. Surface is clean. A few very thin cracks are visible in the thickest areas of white pigment in the sky. Under UV light: a few small strokes of inpainting are visible in the left half of the canvas and at the extreme upper edges. There is also one small spot of inpainting in the upper left area of the sky. A few small strokes and one spot appear at the right corner to address prior frame abrasion. Otherwise fine; the work is in very good condition.
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In 1920, Albert Marquet departed for Algeria in an attempt to escape the persistent bouts of sickness he would experience during winters in Paris. Marquet's dear friend, Élie Faure, had recommended he seek a more hospitable climate to pass the colder months.  Although he had already spent considerable time in Morocco, Faure suggested that he venture to Algeria. In late January of 1920, Marquet wrote to him upon arrival, "The weather is marvelous in Alger and I think I will work here," and the artist chose to routinely return to the northern coast. 

 Marquet relished these sojourns which provided him with profound sources of inspiration in the exotic and varied landscape. By 1924, he had settled in a home named the Villa Miramar, situated on the winding picturesque route Laperlier. Marquet's home was nestled in the hills above town and boasted panoramic views of the bay of Alger. The Laperlier path enjoyed a strong following and was commemorated in French circles by authors such as Albert Camus.  In similar fashion to some of his contemporaries the Laperlier path was a perennial font of inspiration which Marquet elegized again and again in his North African paintings.