Description
Born in Holland, Ten Cate spent most of his career in Paris where he briefly shared an apartment in Montmartre with his friend the artist Kees van Dongen, and was also acquainted with Vincent van Gogh. He was known for his pastels of harbors and cityscapes. This melancholic view of Le Havre conveys the damp chill of an autumn twilight.
Provenance
Edward B. Greene, Cleveland; [Durand-Ruel, Paris (paper label, now removed, in departmenal file)]. Edward B. Greene, Cleveland (according to departmental card, not stamped)
Accession Number
1960.166
Medium
pastel
Dimensions
Sheet: 25.9 x 35 cm (10 3/16 x 13 3/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Belden Greene
Tags
Drawing Early Modern (1901–1950) Pastel Dutch Color: Brown
Background & Context
Background Story
Siebe Johannes ten Cate (1858-1908) was a Dutch painter known for the atmospheric, Impressionist paintings of city and harbor subjects that make him one of the most accomplished painters of the Dutch Impressionist tradition. The Grand Quai of Le Havre from 1901 depicts the grand quay of Le Havre in the atmospheric, Impressionist manner that distinguishes ten Cate's best work from the more conventional painting of his contemporaries. The 1901 date places this in ten Cate's most productive period, when he was producing the atmospheric, Impressionist paintings of city and harbor subjects that are his most accomplished works, and the Le Havre subject connects him to the long tradition of painters who have depicted the important French port city.
Cultural Impact
The Grand Quai of Le Havre is important in the history of Dutch Impressionist painting because it demonstrates the atmospheric, Impressionist manner that ten Cate brought to city and harbor subjects. Ten Cate's atmospheric, Impressionist city and harbor paintings—combining the atmospheric effect of Impressionism with the precise observation of city and harbor subjects—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Dutch Impressionist painting, and the 1901 painting shows this tradition at its most atmospheric.
Why It Matters
The Grand Quai of Le Havre is ten Cate's atmospheric Impressionist painting: the grand quay of Le Havre rendered in the Impressionist manner of one of the most accomplished painters of the Dutch Impressionist tradition. The 1901 painting shows the combination of atmospheric effect with precise observation of the harbor subject that connects ten Cate to the long tradition of painters depicting Le Havre.
