The Port of La Ciotat
1907
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 64.8 x 81 cm (25 1/2 x 31 7/8 in.) framed: 88.9 x 107.3 x 6.4 cm (35 x 42 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney
Accession Number
1998.74.6
Art Historical Context
Georges Braque's *The Port of La Cat* (1907), an oil on canvas measuring 64.8 x 81 cm, captures the Mediterranean harbor of La Ciotat, near Marseille, France. Painted during a pivotal summer sojourn in Provence, this work showcases Braque's evolving vision as he transitioned from the bold, expressive colors of Fauvism toward the revolutionary fragmentation of form that would define Cubism. In this transitional piece, Braque draws inspiration from Paul Cézanne's emphasis on structure and volume, rendering the port's ships, buildings, and water through angular, faceted planes and a restricted p...
About the Artist
Georges Braque
Georges Braque (1882–1963) was a French painter, collagist, and sculptor who, together with Pablo Picasso, invented Cubism — one of the most revolutionary developments in the history of Western art. Born in Argenteuil and raised in Le Havre, he initially trained as a house painter and decorator before studying fine art at the Académie Humbert and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Braque's early ...