Mediterranean Seascape

Ker-Xavier Roussel was a central figure in the Nabis, a group of predominantly French artists who formed a secret brotherhood in 1888-9. Their work was indebted to Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and can be characterized by flat planes of color, often outlined in dark contours. This drawing, executed in a bright palette of pastel, features a wall overgrown with foliage along a Mediterranean seascape. The bright green gate, featured in the center of the composition, was a recurring subject in Roussel's oeuvre (Claire Frèches-Thory and Ursula Perucchi-Petri, Nabis, 1888-1900. Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1993, p. 228, no. 91 and p. 234, no. 94). This drawing reveals that the artist was particularly interested in the juxtaposition of natural and architectonic elements.