Home
/
Sunset at Petit-Fort-Philippe below the Mouth of the Aa Rive...
Ref: 808
Sunset at Petit-Fort-Philippe below the Mouth of the Aa River
Eugène Chigot
Ref: 808
Sunset at Petit-Fort-Philippe below the Mouth of the Aa River
Eugène Chigot
Circa 1902
105 x 115 cm (41³/₈ x 45¹/₄ inches)
Signed lower right: Eugène Chigot
105 x 115 cm (41³/₈ x 45¹/₄ inches)
Signed lower right: Eugène Chigot
Exhibition: REP 394, Musée Galliera, Paris
Literature: Eugène Chigot, Literary Studies, Antoine Descheemaeker-Colle, p. 234, listed under No. 4 in the exhibition of the “Galerie Giard” (Place d’Armes Valenciennes) on 4 April 1964
Description: Petit-Fort-Philippe, a district of the French town of Gravelines, is located directly on the North Sea at the mouth of the River Aa. The French painter Eugène Chigot captured this tranquil area at sunset in this painting. The sea and sky shine in lush shades of blue, purple and green, with the setting sun glowing in a vibrant yellow. Several figures in the foreground are busy unloading their catch from a small boat. This does not disturb the tranquillity of the place. Everything takes its relaxed course.
Eugène Chigot
Eugène Chigot (1860–1923) was a French painter of northern light, closely linked to the Étaples artists’ colony and the Opal Coast. Trained first by his father, the painter Alphonse Chigot, and later at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he absorbed both realist and impressionist ideas while keeping a strong regional identity. His beaches, ports, dunes and rural scenes are built from loose, atmospheric brushwork, fresh colour and a sensitive study of weather, tides and changing skies.
Alongside Henri Le Sidaner, he helped develop the artistic life of Étaples and later became a founder of the Salon d’Automne. Chigot’s work often balances everyday coastal labour with poetic luminosity. Fishing boats, shorelines, village streets and wide horizons appear alive with wind, reflection and season. His landscapes preserve the modern, open-air spirit of French painting while remaining deeply rooted in place, observation and the mutable drama of the northern sea coast itself.
Alongside Henri Le Sidaner, he helped develop the artistic life of Étaples and later became a founder of the Salon d’Automne. Chigot’s work often balances everyday coastal labour with poetic luminosity. Fishing boats, shorelines, village streets and wide horizons appear alive with wind, reflection and season. His landscapes preserve the modern, open-air spirit of French painting while remaining deeply rooted in place, observation and the mutable drama of the northern sea coast itself.
you may also like
Sunset at Petit-Fort-Philippe below the Mouth of the Aa River