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Life Class at the École des Beaux-Arts

Albert Marquet, 1898

Albert Marquet painted Life Class at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1898, turning an ordinary academic drawing session into a study in bold, unblended colour. The work belongs to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, where it has been part of the city's collection since 1960.

Where to see it

Life Class at the École des Beaux-Arts is held by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, in Bordeaux, France. The painting is owned by the commune of Bordeaux. Works in permanent collections are sometimes rotated, lent or temporarily off view, so check the museum's official website for current display status before you plan your visit.

What to look for in person

A wall made of pure colour

Look past the model to the wall behind her. Instead of a flat plaster surface, Marquet builds it from separate touches of bright green, blue, red and yellow, placed side by side rather than blended. Near the centre, a large rectangular frame holds broad patches of mauve. Up close you can follow each stroke; from a few steps back they combine into a lively, shimmering backdrop. This treatment of a plain studio wall as a field of colour helps explain why the picture later carried the title Nu fauve.

The model's turning pose

The nude stands on a raised round platform and is seen from behind at a three-quarter angle. Her torso twists to the left and her arms are folded across her chest, so it is her back and shoulders that carry the description of the body. Notice how light enters from the right, shaping one side of the figure and letting the other fall into shade. In the tall, narrow format, she rises above everyone else in the room and acts as the pale, steady centre of a busy, colourful scene.

Students as dark silhouettes

Around the platform, the drawing students are reduced to dark figures dressed in navy blue. Some are seated, others are partly hidden behind their easels, and their faces are only barely suggested. Marquet is not interested in portraying individuals here; he uses these sombre shapes as blocks of deep colour that frame the model and make the bright wall look even brighter. Follow how the dark forms in the lower part of the picture guide your eye upward toward the luminous nude at its heart.

About the painting

Marquet made this picture in 1898, painting in oil on paper that was later mounted on canvas. Its subject is a familiar one for an art student of the period: a life session in a painting studio, with a model posing for a group of pupils. What sets the work apart is the way the young painter handles colour, laying down strong, separate touches instead of the smooth, carefully graded tones expected in academic practice. The painting has gone by several names. Today it is also known as Nu fauve (Pose à l'École des beaux-arts), and for many years it was called Nu dans l'atelier. The connection with Fauvism was made explicit in 1934, when the work appeared in an exhibition on the Fauves at the Galerie de la Gazette des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1937 it was shown again in Paris, at the Petit Palais during the Exposition universelle. The picture stayed with the artist for decades. An inscription on the back, together with the Bordeaux collection records, indicates that it came straight from Marquet's studio and remained in his estate after he died in 1947. In 1960 the City of Bordeaux acquired it from Madame Albert Marquet for the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux. Since then it has travelled to Marquet retrospectives in cities such as Zurich, Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Hamburg and Bilbao. Visitors who know Henri Matisse's Nu en atelier may want to compare the two: the paintings came out of the same studio context and are frequently discussed together, offering a glimpse of two friends exploring colour at the same moment.

Key facts

More by Albert Marquet

• The Window at La Goulette
• Le Pilat
• Le Bassin du Roy au Havre

Sources

• Wikidata Q47263482
• Wikipedia (fr) (CC BY-SA 4.0)