French School, early 20th century
Fishing Boats Moored in a Harbor
Oil on canvas

Unsigned, a Toulon colorman's stamp on the stretcher. 9 ½ x 16 inches (24 x 41 cm), the frame 12 x 18 ¾ inches (30 x 48 cm). Gilt frame with carved corners. Unlined and stable, an old restoration at the upper right.

Nothing floats still on the water. Every hull is doubled by a broken reflection, and the only pure colors in the picture are a yellow sail and two orange buoys.

Fishing boats lie moored in a dense mass along the left, their masts and rigging drawn in dark vertical strokes over the hulls. A barge with a red roof sits at the center, a small yellow sail beyond it. Across the water the far shore runs low and pale under a headland, with a second line of moored craft at the right. The paint is laid in short loaded touches throughout, and the sea is worked in green, teal and grey with no drawn line anywhere.