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).

Paul Henri Simons was a painter from Marseilles, 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 theme that allowed him to experiment with the incidence of light and to study its effect at different times of the day. In this work Simons captures the sweet calm of the sea under a violet mantle, where the light of the sunset begins to merge with the lunar reflection, and the boats of the fishmongers sway on the trembling water.