45 - Emile Othon Friesz

Emile Othon Friesz (Le Havre, 1879 – Paris, 1949) Le Port de Toulon 1928 Oil on canvas Signed lower left 73 × 54 cm “Painter of seascapes”—that is how Émile Othon Friesz came to be known in Paris when he captivated the art market with his views of the Port of Toulon. The painting presented here is one of the last he created. In it, the artist captures the local atmosphere. We can recognize the Quai de la Sinse lined with terraces, the irregular facades of the waterfront buildings, Mont Faron in the background, and the cathedral’s bell tower, which appears disproportionately large here. Titled and dated on the back Émile Othon Friesz, a native of Le Havre, met Raoul Dufy in Charles Lhuillier’s studio, where they were both taking drawing and painting classes in 1894. A deep and lasting friendship led them to make their mark in Paris in 1897. In 1906, Friesz co-founded the “Cercle pour l’Art moderne” in Le Havre. He secured a seat on the Painting Committee alongside Dufy and George Braque. In 1926, Friesz turned his attention to the Port of Toulon. He set up a studio in a fisherman’s house on the pier. For two years, he painted primarily seascapes, which cemented his success in Parisian galleries. In our painting, dated 1928, the artist struck the perfect balance. The bell tower is off-center to the right, while the two fishing boats are isolated in the lower left corner. In this sense, it represents the culmination of two years of exploration and the high point of his views of the marina in Toulon. Provenance - Private collection, Paris