The vantage point

We are on the north-west side of the water on the road goind to Fort Fanal and we are above the Gerbal Cove (Anse Gerbal) looking to the south-west.

This watercolour represents, in the foreground, the Gerbal Cove where the view has changed a lot. When the work was done, the little bay was edged by a sandy beach where the fishermen placed their wooden Catalan barques in front of their little cabins, constructed on the shore.

Nowadays vestiges of that era lie in front of us, with only areas of carenage (boat maintenance), the ice factory and refrigerated buildings, remaining.

‘The Town’ is represented in the background.

To the left Mackintosh has painted the fort of the (Presqu’ile) Isthmus, which was destroyed and replaced by the commercial harbour.

Pictorial analysis

1. « For this complex view of Port-Vendres Mackintosh is seated on the stairs at the side of the Fanal Redoubt. One can see this staircase to the left in ‘the Lighthouse’.From his elevated vantage point, he looked down to a man-made platform and to the sheltered beach beneath, beyond that to the west end of the Quay Arago and the back of the rue du Soleil with, in the distance, the Quay de la Douane. He added an invented view of the Town against the sky. The composition provides a strong sense of movement in and out of the picture frame, of high and low viewpoints. A sense of serenity is achieved through his use of pure colour washes and tight geometric patterns. The bollard in the foreground: a recycled cannon, is given the status of a still life centrepiece.The work was sold by the Leicester Galleries in London in 1928, although it cannot be said with any certainty that it was exhibited there at that time”. Translated from the English with the kind permission of the author, Professor Pamela Robertson – University of Glasgow.
2. The composition of this very elaborate watercolor revolves around a graphic system that skilfully opposes horizontal and vertical lines, curved lines and zig-zag lines.

Light, as always with Mackintosh, plays an essential role and the colorful impression is based on a set of colored grays enlivened by the blue / orange contrast.

Historical guideline

In 1975 the Gerbal Cove was completely concreted over. This work enabled the creation of new docks and on the esplanade thus created, a boat cleaning area, an ice factory, refrigerated warehouses, a large fishmonger and a fish auction house were installed. The trawlers came to unload their catch intended for sale at the auction. But following the disappearance of resources, fishing activity declined sharply, causing the gradual disappearance of the number of trawlers and the final closure of the auction house in 2010.

How to get there