La Vague, Marseille, ou le Mistral, Marseille (The Wave or the Mistral, Marseille)
Guérard, known for his experimentation as a printmaker, here employed a greenish ink for the churning sea in this view from Marseille. His title "The Wave" is certainly a nod to the celebrated work of Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai, whom he greatly admired. The alternate title conveys that the turbulent waters in this scene are due to the mistral, a bitter northwesterly wind that blows in the south of France between the winter and spring seasons. The island visible in the distance is likely the Ile d’If, a former fortress made famous as a prison in the nineteenth century by Alexandre Dumas père in his popular novel "The Count of Monte-Cristo."
Artwork Details
- Title: La Vague, Marseille, ou le Mistral, Marseille (The Wave or the Mistral, Marseille)
- Artist: Henri-Charles Guérard (French, Paris 1846–1897 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1893
- Medium: Etching and drypoint printed in green ink
- Dimensions: image: 12 1/16 x 18 7/16 in. (30.6 x 46.8 cm)
sheet: 18 7/8 x 23 3/4 in. (48 x 60.3 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1982
- Object Number: 1982.1028
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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