46. Alfred Casile, Beach Scene with Men Repairing a Boat

ArtistAlfred Casile, French, Marseille 1848–Marseille 1909
Title, DateBeach Scene with Men Repairing a Boat, not dated
MediumOil on cardboard
Dimensions6 1/2 × 10 in. (16.5 × 25.4 cm)
Inscriptions + MarksLower left: a. Casile
ProvenanceAndré Watteau, Paris; his gift to Yvonne and Gabriel Weisberg, Minneapolis
Exhibition History"Reflections on Reality: Drawings and Paintings from the Weisberg Collection," Mia, 2022–23
Credit LinePromised gift of Gabriel P. and Yvonne M.L. Weisberg, Minneapolis

Alfred Casile was a prolific painter of seascapes, a specialty surely inspired by his hometown of Marseille, the French port city on the Mediterranean Sea. He studied art in Marseille with Philippe Auguste Jeanron (cat. nos. 90–91) and remained active in the city’s art scene even after moving to Paris, in 1879. Among his friends were the realist Gustave Courbet and some of the forerunners of Impressionism, such as Eugene Boudin and Johan Jongkind. These artists also looked to the sea for inspiration.

Casile did much of his painting along the coasts of France. Early in his career he worked along the English Channel. He was a great admirer of Camille Corot, at first emulating his soft-focus technique and subdued colors. Later he returned south to paint on the Mediterranean coast and began sharpening his focus and brightening his palette. From 1879 onward, Casile continually sent paintings to the Paris Salons, but his only awards were an honorable mention in 1881 and a third-class medal in 1885.

Beach Scene with Men Repairing a Boat appears to date from Casile’s early visits to the English Channel. Like a great many of the artist’s works, which also include landscapes, it is very small and easily transportable, making it well suited to an outdoor painting excursion. Whether Casile considered this a finished work or the basis for a larger work, it demonstrates his intense observation of detail, atmosphere, and light.

GPW