They painted the Channel

Another way to appreciate the Gravelines channel - Grand Fort Philippe through marine paintings

Since 1880, the Opal Coast has become a land of choice for many artists who came to practice outdoor painting. Its landscapes, its light, and the abundant life of its ports attracted artists. Three schools of painting emerged between the end of the 19th and the middle of the 20th century: those of Wissant, Étaples, and Berck.

The proximity of the Parisian capital, the beauty of the natural sites between land and sea, the presence of a seafaring population with strong traditions, are all factors which contribute to the attractiveness of the Opal Coast.
Often appreciated as a holiday resort, the Gravelines channel and Grand Fort Philippe have inspired painters such as: Georges Seurat, Georges Maroniez, Arthur Van Hecke, André Derain, Raymond Picque, Abel Bertram, Nicolas de Strael, Louis Evrard and Nees Van Steelandt.

Georges Seurat (1859 - 1891):

From 1885, on the advice of Paul Signac, Seurat regularly spent the summer months at the seaside to "wash his eyes from the studio days and translate as accurately as possible the vivid clarity, with all its nuances", first on the Normandy coast in Calvados, at Grandcamp (1885), Honfleur (1886), Port-en-Bessin (1888), then further in the Bay of Somme at Crotoy (1889) and on the Opal Coast at Gravelines (1890).

There he rediscovered his childhood emotions and that very particular luminosity, and worked on seascapes, less complex than his large paintings, where he focused on exercising his pointillist technique to depict the luminosity of the atmosphere.

His seascapes convey a sense of grandeur, calm, and solitude. They were generally well received by critics.

He participated in the formation of the Society of Independent Artists, an open society without juries or awards, and then took the lead in the Neo-Impressionist movement. He produced numerous sketches of boats, beaches and the sea, such as "The Channel at Gravelines, Grand Fort Philippe", which can be seen at the National Gallery in London.

Georges Maroniez (1865 - 1933):

Originally from Douai, an investigating judge and engineer, Georges Maroniez was an inventive, curious, and practical mind. He was interested in photography and invented hand-held cameras to paint "the languors and anger of the sea." A stay in Wissant introduced him to the Opal Coast, and he became friends with Tattegrain and other Berck painters. From then on, he, who had started with countryside landscapes in the tradition of Millet, Corot, and Courbet, turned to landscapes and maritime scenes. He depicted the lives of seafarers; in coastal landscapes and harbor scenes, he sought to capture the daily lives of humble fishermen and their families, the hard work, the courage, and the waiting. He was a member of the so-called "Wissant" group, welcomed by the Demont-Breton family in their Typhonium villa, and who were confronted with the wild beauty of the site of the two capes. The taste he developed for seascapes found its fullness in the effects of light, a true trademark of a style he cultivated, from the Netherlands to Brittany.

Arthur Van Hecke (1924-2003):

Born in Roubaix in a working-class neighborhood, his first contact with art came when he discovered the works of Belgian artists Permeke, Ensor, and Wouters. His painting, like that of many artists in the region, is tinged with Flemish Expressionism.

In 1957, fascinated by the spectacle of the sea that he discovered with his friend Eugène Leroy, he settled in Petit-Fort-Philippe and began to paint seascapes. He also became friends with fishermen, of whom he painted many portraits. He then moved his studio to Dunkirk, Place de la Petite-Chapelle (1959), to Grand-Fort-Philippe (1960), to the sea wall of Malo-les-Bains (1964) and then to Hondschoote (1982). The "Gravelines Group" founded in 1960 by Arthur Van Hecke, Jean Bertaux, Jean Castanier and Raymond Picque is a gathering of famous and emerging artists and a prelude to the Museum of Drawing and Original Prints (1981).

The work created in 1969 by the painter and entitled "The Death of Captain Simon" was acquired by the town of Gravelines. It represents the death of Captain Simon, lying on his bed with several witnesses to accompany him to death: an old sailor who is none other than his second, present for the last minutes of the man and the two children who are those of the artist who looks at the old man. The dark side of the scene is highlighted by the sky in the background, light with a twilight sun inspired by Flemish expressionism. He settled in 1957 in Grand Fort Philippe and with the help of Raymond Picque, a local painter, he set up free exhibitions.

Captain Simon was born on August 4, 1896, in Petit Fort Philippe. At the age of 10, he was sent to Iceland as a fishing cabin boy on the Fernand, commanded by his father. He was later drafted into the naval fusiliers during the First World War. He returned to Iceland in 1928 as a mechanic. Captain Simon spent his life at sea and eventually lost his two children to it when they went on a fishing trip. Captain Simon died in Grand Fort Philippe on September 4, 1968. This man, who took in the painter Van Heck when he came to Grand Fort Philippe, was immortalized in this painting, which remains full of hope and at the same time recounts the last moments of a https://youtu.be/qmk0O2l6IKA

André Derain (1880-1954):

One of the fathers of Fauvism painted the Gravelines channel. His joy in painting is reflected in his own words: "Art is the invention of joy."

Raymond Picque (1926 – 1984):

Born in Gravelines and living in Grand-Fort-Philippe, Raymond Picque painted the characters of his life all his life. He made many pen drawings. He drew inspiration from shipbuilding workshops. He also painted in a very expressionist way. He sketched people he met in a notebook, freehand. People he met in Grand Fort Philippe. He painted people he saw from his studio. During a carnival, he painted "tit baptiste."
Note: in search of a reproduction of this author, an exhibition "drawings of the channel" is planned at the "museum of drawing and printmaking" during 2016.

Nicolas de Stael (1914 - 1955)

Positioned on the border between abstract and figurative, De Staël dreams of a unique synthesis, a major breakthrough. He shakes up forms, pushes colors, and agitates compositions. Landscapes, nudes, still lifes, but also jazz concerts and football matches... Against the grain of dominant culture, his art is lively and structured, grounded in reality.
In July 1954, he had decided to explore the coastline of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The boats and the channel at Gravelines, the beaches of Calais and Grand-Fort-Philippe, Cape Blanc-Nez and Cape Gris-Nez...

Louis Evrard (1905-1989):

A painter from Dunkirk, Louis Evrard (1905-1989) regularly returned to Gravelines to paint and draw the places and its inhabitants with a constantly renewed passion. In October 1934 he said "most of my holidays were spent in the Gravelines region, precisely at Petit-Fort-Philippe and Grand-Fort-Philippe, charming fishing villages where I painted seascapes, the two small towns separated by a channel that serves as an entrance to the port of Gravelines." Louis Evrard discreetly sets up his easel, captures the intimacy of the beached boats, observes the gatherings of fishermen, enters the houses and backyards, follows the processions... The concentration of his gaze induces a state of silence to the motif. His fondness for color modulated by accents in muted tones, affectionately earned him the nickname "Grisot Time." After the war, he stayed in the summer with the Massons, owners of the lighthouse café. The museum presents paintings, watercolors and lithographs.

Louis CHERVIN (1905-1969):

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Louis CHERVIN (Painter of the Navy): "In Montmartre he knew everyone. He was particularly close to Gen Paul and André Utter, Suzanne Valadon's husband, but also to Le Vigan, Marcel Aymé and Céline, whom he probably met at Gen Paul's. Louis-Ferdinand Céline gave CHERVIN the nickname Chaunard, like Schaunard in Scènes de la vie de Bohème. It is under this name of Chaunard, but also of Blérois, that CHERVIN appears in version B of Féerie pour une autre fois, a preparatory text for the book published in 1952.

Léon Frédéric DESHAYES (1883-1970)

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Nees Van Steelandt (? - 1983):

Nees van Steelant was part of the Lille mint group. After a stay in Grand Fort Philippe in his younger years, he decided to become a Grand Fort Philippois. He painted himself on the wall of his house, smiling behind the trees. Everyone knew him. He had an old Volkswagen with all his painting equipment in a mess inside. He was often seen stopping in front of some of the village cafes where he was given food in exchange for some paintings. This is probably why many Grand Fort Philippois have a Nees van Steelant in their homes.

Abel Bertram (1871 - 1954):

Able Bertram was born in Saint Omer and attended the Beaux Arts in Lille before moving to Paris in 1890 where he joined the Bonnat studio. A student of Bonnat and Guillemet, he showed from the beginning his taste for pure colors. His colorful passion, which makes him similar to the "FAUVES", is always tempered by his attachment to the imprecise tones, the gray skies and the lackluster horizons of his native region. He has indeed given the beaches of the North, of GRAVELINES especially, notations that are both delicate and strong, with a remarkable simplification of means.

Pierre GAUTIEZ (1922-2006):

In his seascapes, Pierre Gautiez created ports, bodies of water, ships, and the movement of foaming waves by studying the site itself. Effervescent and melancholic, his motifs expressed harsh but attractive climates as easily as the tranquil serenity of the Mediterranean, just as they did a Normandy with splendid trees against a sky of surprising transparency and menacing mobility. In his landscapes, Pierre Gautiez displayed the romanticism of winds sweeping across wide horizons with snow populated by tragic flights, where reflections and shadows reign forever, in a seduction of precious colors.