l'Ascania, Harbor Scene, Military Ship Ww1. Jules Ausset

Painter: Jules Ausset (1868-1955). Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts du Havre under Charles Lhuillier, Jules Ausset followed in the tradition of Norman marine painters, attentive to port life and the industrial atmosphere of the coast...

He exhibited at the Salon d'Automne from 1921 to 1924 and at the Tuileries from 1924 to 1941.

This work depicts a lively quayside scene dominated by the imposing silhouette of the Ascania, a transatlantic liner with a singular destiny. Also used as a British military vessel during the First World War, notably in Quebec, it was finally destroyed in June 1918 off Newfoundland.

Ausset captures a suspended moment here: the ship is docked, framed by a harbor metal structure and punctuated by vertical masts that punctuate the composition. The smoke rising from the red chimney contrasts with the soft tones of the sky, treated in a nuanced palette of beiges, bluish grays and pinks. The free, vibrant brushstrokes lend a slightly misty, almost melancholy atmosphere to the whole.

The artist does not seek documentary precision, but favors a sensitive vision of the port, between industrial activity and the poetry of everyday maritime life. This work thus testifies to Ausset's interest in the modern transformations of the port landscape at the beginning of the 20th century.

Technique: oil on panel
Signed and dated
Good condition
Dimensions: 33×24 cm
Period: 1917