ALBERT MARQUET (1875–1947)
The Jaizkibel (547m -1, 795ft)
Spain / France border
1. In Fontarabie vue d'Hendaye, oil on canvas, 1899
2. In Vue d'Hendaye, watercolour, 1900
The mountain
The Jaizkibel is mountain range of the Basque Country located east of Pasaia, north of Lezo and west of Hondarribia, in Spain, with 547 m at the highest point (peak Alleru). The range stretches south-west to north-east, where it plunges into the sea at the Cape Higuer (spelled Higher too). To the north-west, the mountain dips its slopes in the sea with beautiful cliffs all along, overlooking on the east the marshes of Txingudi, the river Bidasoa and its mouth (tracing the state borderline between France and Spain) as well as the towns of Irun, Hendaia (Hendaye in french) and Hondarribia on the river banks. The nearest relevant mountains are La Rhune, Aiako Harria and Ulia closing the view east to west from the south. Some people consider Jaizkibel to be the first westernmost mountain of the Pyrenees.The area is a relevant landmark on the grounds of its strategic position close to the border with France, with the range standing as the easternmost Spanish rise by the seaside and affording an unmatched view miles away, both over the sea and inland. As a result, the military has always showed an interest in the place since the 16th century when the Spanish-French border started to be drafted, taking to building defence facilities, such as the towers dotting the ridge (dating from the Carlist Wars) or the Fortress of Guadalupe going back to 1890, nowadays out of use. The northern slopes have borne witness to frequent military manoeuvres from the decade of the 50s through the early 90s, when the road to the booster station was sometimes cut off to avoid disruption and damage.
The painter
Albert Marquet was a French painter, associated with the Fauvist movement. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. In 1890 Marquet moved to Paris to attend the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, where he met Henri Matisse. They were roommates for a time, and they influenced each other's work. Marquet began studies in 1892 at the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris under Gustave Moreau, the famous symbolist artist. In 1905 he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne. Dismayed by the intense coloration in these paintings, critics reacted by naming the artists the "Fauves", i.e. the wild beasts. Although Marquet painted with the fauves for years, he used less bright and violent colours than the others, and emphasized less intense tones made by mixing complementaries, thus always as colors and never as grays.
Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes, but also several portraits and, between 1910 and 1914, several female nude paintings.
From 1907 to his death, Marquet alternated between working in his studio in Paris (a city he painted a lot of times) and many parts of the European coast and in North Africa. He was most involved with Algeria and Algiers and with Tunisia. He remained also impressed particularly with Naples and Venice where he painted the sea and boats, accenting the light over water. During his voyages to Germany and Sweden he painted the subjects he usually preferred: river and sea views, ports and ships, but also cityscapes.
Marquet was particularly revered by the American painters Leland Bell and his wife Louisa Matthiasdottir. He was also revered by Bell's contemporaries Al Kresch and Gabriel Laderman. Since both Bell and Laderman were teachers in several American art schools, they have had an influence on younger American figurative artists and their appreciation of Marquet.
Matisse said ; "When I look at Hokusai, I think of Marquet—and vice versa ... I don't mean imitation of Hokusai, I mean similarity with him".