Sailing boats in front of mountains, and two sketches of a standing and a walking man, Marseille 1916

Albert Marquet made this drawing of sailing boats, mountains, and figures in Marseille with ink on paper. It feels as though he has worked quickly to capture a sense of place. You can imagine him looking at the scene, and then back to the page, trying to get the essence of what he saw down quickly. There is a freedom to the marks, which give the impression that Marquet was more interested in the overall composition, the relationships of objects in space, than with fine detail. The two figures have been quickly dashed off, and the mountain range is just a simple meandering line. But he gives more care to the sailing boat, which occupies centre stage in the composition. The work reminds me a little of Matisse, but perhaps a cooler, more subdued version. I feel that Marquet, like many painters, was in dialogue with what he saw around him, and the work of others. Painting is just an ongoing conversation, isn’t it? And this drawing is a great example of how artists inspire and exchange ideas across time.