The Harbour, Cassis

In 1913 the Peploe family made their first trip to the Côte d’Azur, meeting J.D. Fergusson and Anne Estelle Rice in Cassis. They were following in the footsteps of Fauve artists such as Camoin and Derain. Staying at the Hôtel Panorama, Peploe spent the summer working on a group of panels and canvases that show the continuing influence of the Rhythmist group.

‘Many different subjects appealed to Peploe: the harbour with its long walls, breakwater and the castle and mountains behind; the narrow streets behind the old front; and the wild, wooded landscape behind the town… He tries to evoke the character of a new, exciting locality but uses non-naturalistic colour and simplifications of form which align him closely with fauvism' (G. Peploe, S J Peploe, Edinburgh, 2000, p. 51).