Just two years after winning a first-class medal at the Paris Salon, Henri Martin was awarded a scholarship to travel to Italy. It was here that the artist developed his divisionist technique to its fullest extent. Martin’s paintings of Venice are among his most evocative, capturing the constant evolution of light and color across the city and its lagoon. Upon his return to France, Martin wrote: “Of all the cities that I have seen on my trip, Venice is by far the one that delights me the most… What corners it has to paint in! I was not expecting such work, or I would have left Rome and Florence earlier… Italy offers everything to be desired. I will come back as soon as possible” (quoted in Henri Martin (exhibition catalogue), Musée Henri Martin, Cahors & Capitole de Toulouse, Toulouse, 1993, p. 91).

The first generation of Impressionist painters was highly influential to Martin and his peers, whose formative years occurred amidst the height of the Impressionist movement (see fig. 1). Martin’s work parallels that of Monet in style as well as choice of motif; both artists would reiterate the same subject matter in all seasons and during all times of day in order to isolate the variations of light. Furthermore, the Impressionist technique of using short, fragmented brushstrokes and intensified colors was particularly suited to Martin’s desire to capture the nuances of natural light. Jac Martin-Ferrières, the artist's son, notes: “Henri Martin was without contest an Impressionist and one who had the deepest sensitivity, certainly equal to that of Monet, whom he most admired. Their interpretation of nature is certainly owing to their utmost sensitivity and not through research of a technical process, a poetical evocation hued by a thousand colours which can undoubtedly be called a work of art” (Jac Martin-Ferrières, Henri Martin, Paris, 1967, p. 35; see fig. 2).

Almost three decades after Martin’s initial tour, the influence of the Venetian cityscape continued to inspire the artist, who took a prolonged trip to the Veneto between 1909 and 1910. The present work is striking for its glistening and jewel-like palette, but above all for exemplifying the artist’s much-fêted ability to capture the intangible and mystical atmosphere of a particular moment. He was above all a painter of the nuances of place and time.