The son of a maid and railway employee, Albert Marche (1875-1847) was born in the port city of Bordeaux in southwestern France. At 15, he moved to Paris, but the sea remained his unchanging love. The artist traveled a lot. He was easy to climb. Particularly vivid impressions received in Naples and Venice, Albert Marche. The paintings where he painted the sea and boats, focusing on the light under water, are practically independent of the time in which he lived.
Typical is the "Gulf of Naples" (1909), which is stored in the Hermitage. The master wrote it, looking from the top point. The sky is reflected in water, the distance is endless, everything is space and will. The space is organized by a black outline.
Creativity of the painter
Marche as an artist was formed in an atmosphere of Fauvism. He was friendly with Matisse, Derain, Vlaminok, Rouault, Duffy. But the colors do not run amok on his canvases. His sense of color is striking. In the landscapes of Paris, which he adored, the gray and yellow colors of the palette are inactive. Albert Marche painted paintings using black outlines. They helped him, together with chiaroscuro and the prospect of identifying shape and volume. But in some works he refused them. “Embankment of the Louvre, summer” is a view from the window of his workshop. The work is full of a combination of complex colors, where violet prevails against a pale sky. Quite an unusual painting, showing lovingly lilac Paris, - “St. Trinity. " These works are also exhibited at the Hermitage. And how cold Paris is in winter! Notre Dame in the distance, a close-up shows the embankment of the Seine, and everything is immersed in a gray half-haze.
The painter works masterfully only in silver shades of gray. In addition to the landscapes of Paris, during his travels in France, Germany, Switzerland, Albert Marche painted paintings with views of the river or sea, with ports and ships. These two themes (Paris and the sea) completely captured the imagination of the master.
Artist Albert Marche, paintings
"Port in Honfleur" (1911) - one of the masterpieces of the painter, who was in the Pushkin Museum im. Pushkin from the collection of Sergei Schukin. The hand of the master is recognized immediately, especially in harmonious color and relaxed free brushstroke. Sea distances, boats, grayish pale sky, greenish water with light ripples. Albert Marche paints pictures using very economical technical means, and he manages to convey life in all its discreet, but romantic charms. His canvases gravitate towards a permanent image of the Seine, beaches, sea and coast. One of his best paintings, “Port of Marseille” (1916), is located in Japan (Ohara Museum of Art).
Horizontally, the canvas is divided into three parts. In the foreground, boats stand out clearly in the calm turquoise water, then comes the bright expanse of the sea, which is crowned by the foggy grayish outlines of the city on the mountain. It is surrounded by a pale, dull yellowish sky. Involuntarily I recall the engravings of Hokusai's "One Hundred Views of Fuji." Nowadays, the re-opening of the heritage of Albert Marche is underway.
Exhibition Albert Marche
In 2015, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris hosted an exhibition of 70 paintings and 60 drawings by Marche. All work was of a very high standard. These are landscapes of Paris, Algeria, Hamburg, Naples. Ink drawings amazed visitors with laconicism and realism. Three strokes the artist manages to convey life. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts also celebrated the 140th anniversary of the artist with the exhibition “Albert Marche. The artist of the stopped time. " It differs from Paris in that it has impressions of Marche’s trip to the USSR, as well as the work of young Russian artists of the 20s of the XX century, who were influenced by Marche. The master himself is represented by 49 canvases. In addition, it shows the work of Derain (Drying Sails), Vlaminok (Barges on the Seine), Duffy (Regatta).
The work of Albert Marche in the Hermitage
Thanks to Ivan Morozov (6 paintings) and Sergei Schukin (9 paintings), our largest museums have canvases written by Albert Marche. The paintings in the Hermitage are, like in Moscow, the early Marche (1901-1913). These include the “Modistki”, “View of the Seine and the monument to Henry IV,” “The Louvre Embankment, summer,” “Rainy Day in Paris. Notre Dame ”,“ Port of Hamburg ”,“ Saint-Jean-de-Luz ”,“ Gulf of Naples ”,“ Embankment in greenery ”,“ Harbor in Menton ”. Parisian landscapes made us speak of the artist as a master with his own expressive system and of Paris Marc. He wrote them, looking from his apartment on the sixth floor (for example, “Embankment in the green”). The artist’s view from a height “draws” the viewer in depth. The painter himself developed this manner of work.
Unusual, joyful and bright “Harbor in Menton”. Against the background of the blue cloudless sky, the white city on the white embankment highlights, reflecting, the azure sea. Harmonious ratio of the sea, boat and ship. Thanks to the light, it seems that the world is warmed up by the rays of the southern sun.
The artist’s work is filled with forever beautiful, and not political paintings on the topic of the day. His works do not lose their charm, and I want to return to them again and again.