Henri Jean Guillaume Martin was a French painter known for his Neo-Impressionist paintings. This stunning work transports us into the beautiful fishing village of Collioure drenched in the light of Southern France which characterizes much of the artist's mature oeuvre.

The idyllic composition, looking beyond the rampart walls to sailboats drifting languidly past cottages nestled into the hills perfectly illustrates Martin's interest in recording the interplay of light on objects. He has cleverly combined the geometric structures of the village homes and fishing boats with the organic slopes and hills of the Piranesi in the distance, demonstrating the harmony between both elements in a rhythmic orchestration of line.

This singular pointillist technique and generous impasto further activate the surface of this simple yet enchanting scene with movement and iridescent colour. He uses tight, block-like brushstrokes to create a beautiful mosaic of deep shades of pinks and oranges in the hills and the lovely light tones of apricots, whites and blues in the water, creating this effect of real shimmering of light.

Located at the foot of the Pyréneés near the Spanish border, Collioure became a popular location for many artists, writers and musicians to visit by the 1880’s. It is known as the birthplace of Fauvism, serving as the backdrop for some of the most significant Fauve paintings by Henri Matisse, André Derain and Paul Signac in 1905 who painted on the

beach we see in this painting.