Port de Marseille au petit voilier blanc, c.1925
Oil on canvas, signed lower left.
65 x 81 cm
Provenance :
Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1928
Charles Camoin Exhibition, Galerie Druet, Paris, March 4–15, 1929, cat. no. 2 (under the title Marseille. La Vierge de la Garde)
Auction, Aguttes - De Vrégille & Bizouard, Dijon, October 16, 1996, cat. no. 82, illustrated on cover
Private collection, France
Auction, Aguttes, Neuilly-sur-Seine, June 22, 1999, cat. no. 75, illustrated p. 25
Private collection
Auction, Christie’s, New York, November 9, 1999, cat. no. 312, illustrated p. 117
Galerie Marc Stamegna, Marseille
Private collection, Marseille
Galerie Eric Aknin, Marseille
Private collection, France
Charles Camoin – Port of Marseille with the Small White Sailboat
In this painting by Charles Camoin, the Old Port of Marseille appears in luminous clarity, animated by the activity of the quays and the presence of ships. The small white sailboat, placed at the center of the composition, structures the scene and serves as a visual pivot around which the other boats are arranged.
More than picturesque detail, Camoin seeks here a formal synthesis: silhouettes reduced to their essentials, simplified volumes, and flat areas of color that create a serene atmosphere. This approach brings him closer to Albert Marquet, his friend and contemporary, who also captured the Port of Marseille in visions of great modernity, both refined and timeless.
A painter with Fauvist origins, Charles Camoin retains in this work the vitality of color, while favoring a more sober style oriented towards balance and harmony. This canvas reflects both his Mediterranean roots and his role in the history of modern French painting in the 20th century.
Galerie Alexis Pentcheff – Marseille
Specialist in Provençal and modern painters, the gallery offers for sale works by Charles Camoin, Albert Marquet, and other major masters of 20th-century French art, bearing witness to the artistic richness of Provence and the Mediterranean.