Artwork
Port of Algiers - After the storm
Port of Algiers - After the storm is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Albert Marquet. It dates from 1932 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria.
About this work
Overview
The composition centers on a modest shoreline building with a brown roof, a handful of figures nearby, and several small vessels bobbing in placid water.
Albert Marquet’s 1932 oil painting *Port of Algiers – After the Storm* portrays a quiet harbor in the Algerian capital following a recent squall. The composition centers on a modest shoreline building with a brown roof, a handful of figures nearby, and several small vessels bobbing in placid water. A cloud‑laden sky, tinged with distant blue, casts a muted light over the scene, creating a tranquil atmosphere.
Subject & Meaning
The work records a moment of calm after turbulence, emphasizing the transition from storm to serenity. By focusing on the still water’s reflection and the subdued sky, Marquet underscores the restorative quality of the harbor, suggesting both the resilience of the city’s daily life and the quiet beauty that emerges once the weather clears.
Technique & Style
Marquet applies a restrained palette of grays, browns, and soft blues, employing loose, fluid brushstrokes that hint at form without detailing every surface. This approach reflects his post‑impressionist sensibility, moving away from the vivid Fauvist colors of his early career while retaining a lyrical handling of light and atmosphere.
History & Provenance
Created in 1932, the painting entered the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s broader interest in early twentieth‑century French modernism and Marquet’s reputation as a leading landscape painter of his generation.
Context
Marquet, a longtime associate of Henri Matisse, spent several periods in North Africa, where the bright yet nuanced light of the Mediterranean coast informed his later work. *Port of Algiers – After the Storm* belongs to a series of harbor scenes that document his observations of coastal life, integrating his French training with the atmospheric conditions of the Algerian shoreline.
Artist & collection
Artist
Albert Marquet (French pronunciation: ; 27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter.
