Paul Henri Simons

PAUL HENRI SIMONS (1865 -1932).
"Sunset at Ferrières", late 19th century.
Oil on canvas.
Signed lower left corner.
Measurements: 63 x 53 cm; 120 x 88 cm (frame).

"Sunset at Ferrières" by Henri Simons is a painting of serene and luminous atmosphere representing a small port with boats moored at the water's edge under a soft light at the end of the day. The work stands out for its delicate palette of mauve, pink and bluish tones, as well as for a vibrant and diffuse brushstroke close to impressionism and Belgian luminism, where the main interest is not the precise detail but the capture of the reflections, the mist and the poetic sensation of the seascape.

Paul Henri Simons was a painter from Marseille, son of Adrien Simons, sculptor, and Marie Anne Choffat; he was also a disciple of Jean Pierre Laurens and Louis Olivier Merson. Specializing in port and marine views, he was a drawing inspector in the Paris schools. In 1902 he was appointed official painter for the Navy and the Colonies. He worked with mastery on marine and port landscapes, a subject that allowed him to experiment with the incidence of light and to study its effect at different times of the day.