Albert Marquet

Galerie Fleichtheim, Berlin
Robert Hugo Oppenheim, Berlin
Maria Helene Oldham (formerly Oppenheim), Berlin
Private Collection, England (by descent from the above and sold: Sotheby's, London, June 30, 1982, lot 29)
Daniel Malingue, Paris
Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Sale: Millon & Associés, Paris, November 24, 2010, lot 84
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale and sold: Louiza Auktion & Associé, Ixelles, October 29, 2011, lot 55)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art & London, Royal Academy of Arts, The Fauve Landscape, 1990-91, illustrated in the catalogue

Jean-Louis Ferrier, The Fauves: The Reign of Color, Paris, 1995, illustrated p. 114
Claude Jeancolas, L'Art Fauve, Paris, 2006, illustrated p. 106

This work is in excellent condition. The canvas is unlined. The colors are bright and fresh. The surface is nicely textured and clean apart from some minor staining at the lower left corner. Pinholes are visible at all four corners.. Under UV light certain original pigments fluoresce, however no visible inpainting is apparent.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE 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 promenade. In July and August of 1906 Marquet traveled in the company of Raoul Dufy along the Normandy coast, each artist exploring in his own way the expressive potential of color and form evoked by the scenes they encountered in the popular resorts of Le Havre and Sainte-Adresse.

Over and beyond the use of Fauve colors, the present work illustrates how Marquet had begun to simplify the compostional forms of his works. Strident blocks of color interact with the rhythms created by the diagonal swaths of coast, demonstrating Marquet's move toward a more abstract version of reality. This tendency might have owed something to the influence of Gauguin; the 1906 Salon d'Automne had brought his work to the general public's attention, and the simplified planes and blocks of color in his art had a profound influence on numerous artists. The simplicity and lack of ornamentation in these works is a signal of the direction Marquet's aesthetic was taking during this critical period of his career.