Albert Marquet - Journée grise à Davos - image-1

Lot 321 N

Albert Marquet - Journée grise à Davos

Auction 1033 - overview Cologne
30.05.2014, 18:00 - Modern Art
Estimate: 60.000 € - 70.000 €
Result: 61.000 € (incl. premium)

Albert Marquet

Journée grise à Davos
1936

Oil on wood 32.5 x 40 cm Framed. Signed 'marquet' lower right. - Margins and partly in the image with few inconspicuous retouchings. Otherwise in good condition, colours still fresh.

Albert Marquet became known primarily through the light-filled views of North African landscapes that he painted during his frequent stays there. In addition, he also undertook extended journeys to Northern and Eastern Europe, Romania and Russia. In 1936 he spent a substantial period of time in Switzerland, and he visited Davos and Geneva in the winter of that year; stops in Montreux and Lausanne followed in early 1937.
The present painting shows a view of a wintery Davos immersed in diffuse light. From a markedly elevated standpoint, the viewer's gaze glides across the plain, cubic houses towards the silhouette of the soaring church tower. Its slender spire becomes lost in the dark blanket of clouds that looms above the town. The cityscape - held entirely in tones of beige, brown and red, which are veiled with grey - is provided with its optical rhythm through the brightly shining surfaces of the snow-covered, flat roofs. The painter adeptly guides the viewer's gaze along these and into the distance, where the horizon is entirely swallowed up by the white-and-bluish haze.
In this winter view, Albert Marquet once again proves himself a master in transposing atmospheric conditions on to the canvas. The scenery comes to life: the hazy character of the light and the cold, winter air become directly intelligible to the viewer.

Certificate

With a photo-certificate by Guy Wildenstein, Paris, dated 23 May 2013. The work is registered under the reference no. 95.06.20/4304/2153. It will be included in the catalogue raisonné by Jean-Claude Martinet currently under preparation.

Provenance

Sotheby's New York, Impressionist & Modern Art, Part II, 13. Nov. 1996, lot 167; formerly private possession, France; Private possession, Switzerland