Ebb Tide at Pyla (Primary Title)
Albert Marquet, French, 1875 - 1947 (Artist)
Along with Vlaminck, Marquet was among the original circle of artists who formed around Matisse and Derain, and he exhibited works alongside theirs at the 1905 Salon d'Automne in the room dubbed "the cage of wild beasts." In a favorable critique, the poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire wrote, "This painter looks at nature with kindness. In him, there is a little of the gentleness of Saint Francis."
Ebb Tide at Pyla is a view of the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the famous Dune du Pyla, near Bordeaux, in southwestern France. The painting dates from the artist's mature period in the 1930s and represents one of his most beloved locales. The extreme lightness and fluidity of the gestural brushwork are highly effective in imbuing the composition with an immediate quality of softness. Here, Marquet achieves a harmonious relationship between shapes, textures, and colors, evoking a calmness that seems to emanate visibly from the seascape.
Signed lower right: "Marquet"
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
1957: Exposition Albert Marquet, Musee Toulouse- Lautrec, Albi, July 6-September 25, 1957, No. 52 [as "Fin d'ete au Pyla"].
1964: Albert Marquet, peintre francaise, Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal; Musee des Beaux-Arts, Quebec; National Gallery, Ottawa, 1964, No. 35.
1964: Marquet, Knoedler Gallery, New York, May 6-29, 1964, No. 40.
1968: French Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, April 4, 1967- June 5, 1968.
1964: Albert Marquet, peintre francaise, Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal; Musee des Beaux-Arts, Quebec; National Gallery, Ottawa, 1964, No. 35.
1964: Marquet, Knoedler Gallery, New York, May 6-29, 1964, No. 40.
1968: French Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, April 4, 1967- June 5, 1968.
©artist or artist’s estate
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