The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

The Port of l'Estaque, the Pier

The Port of l'Estaque, the Pier

1906
(French, 1882–1963)
France, early 20th century
oil on canvas
Unframed: 59.7 x 73 cm (23 1/2 x 28 3/4 in.)
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.104
© Artists Right Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Location: 223 20th Century Avant-Garde

Did You Know?

Inspired by the light and atmosphere of Port of l'Estaque, Braque wrote, "It's there that I felt all the elation. All the joy, welling up inside me."

Description

Celebrated as the one of the inventors of Cubism, Georges Braque was also an important member of the French Fauves (Wild Beasts). Their principal aim was to liberate color from natural appearances in order to use it for purely expressive purposes. Braque painted The Port of L’Estaque on his first visit to the south of France. He was only twenty-four years old and bursting with enthusiasm. His excitement is felt in the undulating hills and the short, powerful strokes of pure, iridescent color, often applied in complementary color contrasts of red/green, blue/orange, and violet/yellow. However, his color harmonies do not follow any systematic method but are instead the result of an improvisational process sparked by the artist’s emotional reaction to ­the subject.
  • (Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris, France, no. K1141)
    Wilhelm Uhde [1874–1947], Paris, France
    about 1938
    Possibly Paul Roemer, Berlin, Germany
    1950s
    Dr. A. Fuchs, Berlin, Germany
    possibly by descent in the family
    Private German Collector
    December 9, 1997
    (Christie’s, London, December 9, 1997, lot 24, sold to a private collector)
    before 2013
    (C&M Arts, New York, NY, sold to Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley)
    before 2013–2020
    Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2020–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 According to George Isarlov, Georges Braque (Paris: J. Corti, 1932), p. 14.
    2 According to the 1997 Christie’s sale catalogue.
    3 A label on back of the painting notes, “Paul Roemer, Bellevuestr. 10, Berlin W9 59 Braque”. Paul Roemer (1878-1945) was an art dealer in Berlin. Roemer’s gallery was located at 10 Bellevuestrasse, Lützowplatz, from 1938 to 1939. 
    4 According to the 1997 Christie’s sale catalogue. A label on the back of the painting gives the name “Dr. A. Fuchs” as the lender to the Haus der Kunst Fauves-Expressionisten exhibition, cat. no. 8. 
  • Isarlov, George. Georges Braque. Paris: José Corti, 1932. Reproduced: no. 14
    Zervos, Christian. "Georges Braque." Cahiers d' Art VIII (1933): 1-15. Reproduced: p. 10
    Cooper, Douglas. Georges Braque; Prädikat des ICOM: "agree." München, Germany: Franzis-Druck, 1963. Reproduced: no. 7
    Palais de Beaulieu (Lausanne, Suisse). Chefs d'oeuvres des collections suisses: de Manet à Picasso. Lausanne: Skira, 1964. Reproduced: no. 162
    Hoog, Michel et al. Le Fauvisme français et les débuts de l'expressionnisme allemand. Paris: Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, 1966. Mentioned: P. 35; Reproduced: P. 43, no.8
    Pouillon, Nadine and Isabelle Monod-Fontaine. Braque: œuvres de Georges Braque, 1882-1963. Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, 1982. Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 24-25
    Freeman, Judi. The Fauve Landscape. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990. Reproduced: p. 45, pl. 52
    "A Historic Gift: Highlights from the Keithley Gift," Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine (Summer 2020). Mention and reproduction pp. 6-7.
    “A Historic Gift. Longtime CMA supporters Joseph and Nancy Keithley give 114 works, the largest gift in more than 60 years.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 60, no. 3 (Summer 2020): Cover, 6-9. Reproduced: P. 6; Mentioned: P. 7.
    Griswold, William M. “Recent Acquisitions (2013-20) at the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Burlington Magazine 163, no. 1414 (January 2021): 93-104. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 98, no. 9; mentioned: P. 93
    Brown, Heather Lemonedes. “Color, Sensation, and Memory: Themes in the Keithleys’ gift and promised gift.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 62, no. 3, 2022: Cover, 4-7. Reproduced: P. 4; Mentioned: P. 4, 5.
  • Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
    Le Fauvism francais et les debuts de l'Expressionisme allemande. Musee Nationale d'Art Modern, Paris, France (January – March 1966); Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (March – May 1966).
    Chefs d'Oeuvres des Collections Suisses. Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland (1964).
    Georges Braque. Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (October – December 1963)
    (Possibly) Salon des Independents. Paris, France (1907). (possibly no. 723 or 725)
  • {{cite web|title=The Port of l'Estaque, the Pier|url=false|author=Georges Braque|year=1906|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.104