Albert Marquet's unmistakable paintings depicting tranquil coastal landscapes and harbor scenes characterized by unique light, atypical color choices, and space are hard to miss.
Marquet was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1875. He moved to Paris in 1890 to attend the École des Arts Décoratifs, and later, he studied under the symbolist painter Gustave Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts. During this time, Marquet met Henri Matisse, with whom he developed a close friendship and exhibited together at the Salon des Indépendants. Like his friend, Marquet created prominent works in a Fauvist style, with expressive colors and simplified forms. However, compared to the Fauves, his palette was more subdued, featuring muted yellows, violets, and various blues.
Alongside Matisse, André Derain, Georges Braque, and others, Marquet exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1905, where the term "fauves" (wild beasts) was coined. Shortly thereafter, Marquet traveled along the coasts of Europe and North Africa, creating paintings of harbors and beaches in places like Venice, Normandy, and Algeria, executed in a harmonious, naturalistic style.
Although Paris was Marquet's home and the city he always returned to, he found significant inspiration during his numerous travels abroad. In 1938, Marquet visited Stockholm for two months with his wife, Marcelle. Stockholm, a city surrounded by water with its magnificent archipelago, allowed the artist to paint his favorite subjects repeatedly: rivers, sea views, harbors, and ships. Marquet was immediately struck by the famous Nordic light and painted with boundless energy, resulting in several paintings depicting various parts of the city. His months in the Swedish capital gave him the opportunity to spend his days observing the boats populating the sea and the everyday life of the people.
"Les toits rouges" was exhibited by Gösta Olson at the Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet in Stockholm from April to May 1938. The artwork depicts Strandvägen in Stockholm, with Strandvägen 7 in the foreground, the lavish residential and commercial building in Art Nouveau style constructed between 1907 and 1911, designed by the architectural firm Hagström & Ekman, with its characteristic red roofs and awnings. The painting was commissioned through Gösta Olson and Harry Runnquist at the Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet by Lawyer Olle Ohlsén (1894-1938) and has remained in the same family since then.
Albert Marquet passed away in 1947 in La Frette-sur-Seine at the age of 71.