Albert Marquet

Mme Albert Marquet, Paris
Sale: Phillips, London, June 29, 1988, lot 31
Private Collection

New York, Wildenstein, Albert Marquet, 1985

Jean-Claude Martinet and Guy Wildenstein, Marquet, L'Afrique du Nord, Catalogue de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 2001, no. I-77, illustrated pp. 122-23

Very good condition. Surface is clean. Rich impasto. Canvas has been lined. Under UV, there is a line of inpainting about 1 inch thick along top edge. Numerous pinhead size dots of inpainting in the water, mostly in center between the large boats. These retouches seem to correspond with some slightly darkened areas and, according to a professional conservator, may have been overly, broadly applied possibly to cover pentimenti.
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.

As soon as Albert Marquet secured an income, he began to travel, exploring many ports and cities in Western Europe. In 1909, he visited Hamburg and Naples. He also made intermittent travels throughout France and also visited Rotterdam in 1914. All the while, the artist was keenly interested in depicting in his oeuvre, the movement and color of his favorite subjects: ports, harbors and rivers. During the Great War, Marquet was left largely to travel within the confines of France, traveling principally between Paris and Marseilles.

1920 marked a turning point in Marquet's professional and domestic life. After having recovered from poor health the previous year while working in Paris and Marseilles, Marquet embarked in search of a warmer climate as well as new subject matter to inspire him. He traveled in January from Marseilles to Algiers. Shortly after his arrival, he wrote to Matisse, George Besson, his biographer, and others telling them of his new environs. Armed with a letter of introduction, he met Marcelle Martinet, who took the artist on long hikes in and around Algiers. They were subsequently married in 1923. 

In the present work Marquet has succeeded in capturing the unrelenting North African light, its intensity punctuated by the minimal presence of shadows. Painterly, gestured brushstrokes punctuate the shimmering turquoise waters and mirror the hulking masses of the freighters and trawlers.  

In his description of Marquet's fascination with seaports, François Daulte noted that the artist had "an incomparable instinct...to reduce a landscape to its essential factors, separating the horizontal lines from the vertical. These lines he used to depict perspective, and to convey dimension. He always considered that the representation of space remained the principal element in the composition of a painting" (Marquet (exhibition catalogue), Knoedler Gallery, New York, 1964, pp. 4 & 5).

Fig. 1 Albert Marquet, Algiers, circa 1921-24, Private collection