Mediterranean Port (1940)

Technical information

• Title : Mediterranean Port
• Date : 1940
• Technique : Oil on canvas
• Dimensions : 38 × 46 cm
• Location : Private collection *

Biographical / historical context

This harbour scene, dated 1940, attests to Breuillaud’s constant attention to maritime motifs, no longer approached as a broad, open landscape, but close to the activity of the quays. “Port de Méditerranée” is not presented as an identifiable place, but as a type: a sunlit roadstead, tightly clustered boats, masts cutting across the sky, and, in the distance, the outline of a town dominated by a church tower. In such compositions, the artist deploys an en plein air practice that preserves the spontaneity of a first impression while asserting a solid construction of space through colour.

Formal / stylistic description

In the foreground, the hull of a boat and a slanting sail create a strong diagonal that draws the eye toward the centre of the canvas, where masts, spars and the lines of hulls interweave. The sea, handled with short, striated impasto strokes, shifts from deep green to turquoise blue, with light highlights suggesting a steady chop. The boats are painted in flat areas of colour (reds, greens, off‑whites) that structure the scene like a mosaic. In the background, the town is deliberately simplified: a cluster of beige and ochre volumes crowned by a bell tower is enough to locate the harbour and establish scale. The whole combines a free touch with a highly legible organisation, in which each colour serves as an anchor within the composition.

Comparative analysis / related works

The painting belongs to Breuillaud’s corpus of ports and marines, where the verticality of masts counterpoints the horizontal line of the water. It shows the same method of building through chromatic masses: the hulls are treated as solid forms, while the water becomes a field of variations—more mobile and more vibrant. Compared with his more atmospheric coastal views, this work heightens the density of the motif: the space is compressed, and the scene gains rhythm through the repetition of masts and the overlapping of boats. The more assertive palette announces a Mediterranean vein in which light brings out contrasts between warm tones (ochres, reds) and cool tones (blues, greens).

Justification of dating and attribution

The date 1940 accords with the handling: visible impasto, drawing integrated into the brushwork, and a search for balance between spontaneity and construction. The urban background—reduced to pale blocks—reflects a practice in which the artist privileges an overall reading and reserves complexity for the animated zones (boats, water). The attribution to André Breuillaud rests on consistent stylistic traits: geometrical simplification of architecture, the use of subdued colours that are nonetheless locally saturated, and a way of structuring space with broad diagonals. The signature visible in the lower right corner confirms this overall coherence.

Provenance / exhibitions / publications

Private collection. To date, no exhibition, publication or earlier provenance can be securely linked to the work. Further research could be undertaken on the basis of labels on the reverse, early photographs, or references in inventories of private collections.