Completed British 20th C, except portraits, Continental European after 1800, Maritime Subjects 10 comments Do you recognise the location in 'Harbour Scene, France'?
Photo credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Does anyone recognise this view by John Everett? Like the painting in this discussion (http://www.thepcf.org.uk/artdetective/discussions/discussions/where-is-the-location-in-view-of-a-church) it is probably La Rochelle or in the area, though I can't yet find a gate that matches the one depicted.
Everett's study for it is also on Your Paintings:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/harbour-scene-173801
Completed, Outcome
The title has been amended to 'La Rochelle: Fishing Boats at the Quai des Dames, in front of the Fish Market'.
This change will appear on the Your Paintings website by the end of July 2015. Thank you to all for participating in this discussion. To those viewing this discussion for the first time, please see below for all comments that led to this conclusion.
9 comments
Wouldn't the "gate" be La Coursive? From the Google earth view, the buildings seem to be quite similar.
Nearest street view I can get is over the harbour https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@46.155807,-1.152644,3a,18.4y,305.24h,89.97t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sq8gbHDxOHagrYOmEI0crSw!2e0
Looks like the "gate" building has the columns and curved bit with the round dot at the top of it.
It looks exactly St Jean de Luz, harbour in south west of France.
I live close from there.
Well done, Paul, you are certainly right. This old postcard shows the buildings from nearly the same point of view as the painting.
http://cdn.curiosae.com/sites/curiosae/files/pictures/000/004/000004541.jpg
http://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Coursive
I'm very grateful for all these useful suggestions: the fish-market/ La Coursive identification is entirely convincing for these two pictures and there are in fact two others which are fairly clearly also of the Quai des Dames, with similar boat groupings, but a little further to the right.The titles and descriptions will update rapidly on the Royal Museums Greenwich web pages, since with perhaps one or two exceptions, I have now - with you keen-eyed assistance - managed to identify fairly accurately 22 views of La Rochelle by Everett, nearly all of which were until now 'Harbour scene' or similar, and other locations (or groups of the same location) from Cowes to the West Indies. There are still quite a number of more indeterminate ones to pin down -industrial waterfronts and coastlines- but its broken the back of the problem on the fairly identifiable ones involving historic buildings etc.
Since this is quite a list it will feed into Your Paintings in slower time, but many thanks for the impressive assistance.
As this discussion has reached such a satisfactory conclusion, I suggest that we should now conclude it.
Thanks; if not already clear by my last, I agree.
Thank you to all involved.
Before we close this discussion: Pieter, please could you confirm exactly what information should be changed on the Your Paintings website, in order to match the NMM record when amended. Thank you.
NMM page: http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12898.html
Thanks: I see the updated NMM descriptions for this picture [BHC1408] and those related needed a little more editing which has now been done as follows; this is what will appear on our pages when it next updates (theoretically within 24 hours).
[title] La Rochelle: fishing boats at the Quai des Dames, in front of the fish market
[description] The view looks north from the basin of the inner harbour of La Rochelle, across the Quai des Dames and up the Rue Saint-Jean-du-Perot to the 17th-century entrance of the fish market which, after complete redevelopment, reopened in 1982 as La Coursive, the city's modern cultural centre. The building itself was originally a convent of Carmelite friars dating from 1655, which became a tobacco factory after the French Revolution, the fish market from 1847 and a sports centre from 1950 until all but the historic external facades and a fine internal cloister was demolished in 1979 in the conversion to its current purposes. The broad Quai des Dame in front, which runs east from the harbour entrance at the Tour de la Chaine is today a filled with restaurants and bars catering to historic La Rochelle's thriving tourist economy.
Through the use of strong blocks of red, blue and yellow colour, Everett has used simplified shapes to convey the scene. The brightness of the walls of the buildings and red roofs contrast with the deep blue tones of the sky. The freshness and vivacity of the image demonstrates the influence of the Fauves with their emphasis on exuberant colours juxtaposed to create atmosphere, light and a sense of place. Everett visited France on a great many occasions between 1899 and and 1938, to sail and to paint. Previously titled 'Harbour Scene, France', the subject was specifically identified in May 2015. There is another, slightly looser oil version of the same view including the market entrance (BHC1393) and at least two more apparently of boats at another point along the same quay (BHC1846, BHC1852).
These are the Your Paintings links to the related ones:
[BHC1393] http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/harbour-scene-173801
Same title as above: new NMM description reads : This is a looser and more subdued version of BHC1408, for which it may be a preliminary study: see that entry for fuller information. Two other examples (BHC1846 and BHC1852) appear to be a views of boats a little further along the Quai des Dames, excluding the 17th-century entrance to the fish market (originally a convent and now La Coursive, a cultural centre) seen in the left background here. Previously titled 'Harbour Scene', the subject was specifically identified in May 2015.
[BHC1846] http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/a-harbour-scene-france-174036
[new title and description]
La Rochelle: fishing boats in the harbour, off the Quai des Dames
Previously titled 'Harbour Scene, France', this painting appears to be one of four showing fishing boats airing their sails at or off the Quai des Dames, the north side of the inner harbour at La Rochelle, off which lay what used to be the fish market building (today La Coursive, the city cultural centre). BHC1852 is the closest parallel, but this shows the buildings of the quay at a greater distance and boats further out into the harbour. It is a bold contrast of colour, light and shade, heat and stillness, with skilful rendering of the glassy water and reflections between the hulls. The quay behind faces south and the boats in shadow in the foreground may be in the shade cast by the city wall and Tour Saint-Nicolas, the large fortified tour on the south side of the harbour entrance. See also BHC1393 and BHC1408.
[BHC1852] http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/a-fishing-vessel-174039
[new title and description]
La Rochelle: fishing boats at the Quai des Dames
Previously titled 'A fishing vessel', this is one of several such harbour studies by Everett, all apparently of what used to be the main fish-landing wharf at La Rochelle, the broad Quai des Dames, which has the row of trees along it shown in two of them and south-facing buildings behind. This is the most preliminary version, possibly done from the quay on the other side of the harbour entrance near the Tour Saint-Nicolas. See also BHC1846 for the closest related parallel. BHC1393 and BHC1408 appear to show the same quay a litte further to the left, including the entrance to the fish market building (now La Coursive, the city cultural centre).