Albert Marquet - The Story of the Day by La Belle Epoq!

Albert Marquet is a French artist. He was specialized in nude and landscape paintings. "La femme blonde" – is one of his nude paintings.

The artist studied and practised a lot. He kept a simple testament from his teacher Gustave Moreau: "Look for inspiration not only in the museums but also from streets!". Thus Marquet was often painting street scenes - in Paris, Naples, Le Havre, Saint-Tropez throughout his creative life.

Albert was a longtime friend and influenced by Matisse. He painted in rather a simple, slightly restrained colour manner without "unnecessary" textures, photographic details, and trifles. This was probably due to his poor eyesight. Artist used to paint from the upper windows of apartments, which allowed him to do it calmly and without unnecessary witnesses.

Born in 1875 in Bordeaux Albert Marquet moved to Paris in 1890 to study at École des Arts Decoratifs, where he first encountered Henri Matisse. At that time they were roommates and influenced each other's work.

In 1892 Marquet studied at the School of Fine Arts under Gustave Moreau, a Symbolist painter who followed the romantic tradition of Eugene Delacroix.

Marquet started to exhibit his paintings at different Salons. Although he did not sell many paintings, the art community in Paris started to become aware of his works. His early compositions were characterized by a clear and painterly Fauvist approach, in which he perfectly controlled drawing and reacted to light, not only intensifying the strongest tones but also considering the weaker ones in colouristic terms.

In 1905, he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, along with Henri Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck, André Derain, Othon Fries, Georges Rouault, Raoul Dufy, Henri Mangin, Georges Braque, Louis Valt, Georges Dufrenois and Jean Puy.

Because of the "strange" bright colours of these paintings, critics reacted by calling the artists "Fauves", which is, wild beasts in French.

Although Marquet painted with Fauves for years, he used less bright and harsh colours than others and emphasized less intense tones created by mixing additional elements.

Subsequently, Marquet painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes. From 1910 to 1914 - he painted several nude paintings.

He was Matisse's lifelong friend.