ALBERT MARQUET | Remorqueur sur la Seine à Méricourt

Madame Marcelle Marquet, Paris (the artist's wife)
Private Collection, Paris (acquired in the mid-1960s)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 1st July 1998, lot 220
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

The canvas is not lined. Examination under UV light reveals an uneven varnish with some fluorescence which appear to relate to pigment and are not consistent with retouchings. There are some very fine lines of scattered craquelure to the sky and to the water in the centre left of the composition. There is some paint shrinkage to the sky in the upper left quadrant. This work is in overall good condition and would benefit from a light clean.
"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."

'No artist has the same relationship with light as Marquet. It is as if he owned it. He possesses the secret of a pure and intense light which fills all the sky with its uniform and colourless glow. Above the mud, the stagnant waters, the glistening stones, the smoke of railroad stations, an immense sky stretches with no blue, no azure, but how luminous! Luminous as daylight itself and so transparent that a painting by Marquet gives the impression of a large window being opened onto the outside...'
(Marcel Sembat, Marquet (exhibition catalogue), Le Plessis, 1985, p. 6)

This work is accompanied by an Attestation of Inclusion from the Wildenstein Institute, and it will be included in the forthcoming Marquet Digital Catalogue raisonné, currently being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.