This significant painting, named after the bustling port it portrays, belongs to a series that began with Martin’s 1903 ‘Labour’ decoration for the Caisse d’Épargne in Marseille and culminated with his monumental Commerce panel for the Conseil d’État in the Palais-Royal, commissioned in 1914 and finished in 1920. This large decorative scheme, titled ‘La France laborieuse se présentant devant le Conseil d’État’ (Working France Presenting Itself Before the Council of State), featured four grand allegories including Agriculture, Industry/Public Works, Commerce – represented by the activity of the port of Marseilles – and Intellectual Labour. The state commission was among the most prestigious public decorative projects of the Third Republic. Another example from the commission within the present exhibition is Henri Martin’s La Moisson (no. 16), while a character study of the central woman in the present work can be seen in the preceding work, no. 19.

Martin presents a bustle of activity along the quay with dock workers engaged in purposeful activity. Vivid cerulean and ultramarine, oranges and ochres and strategic red accents infuse the painting with vibrant energy and the warmth of the Mediterranean sun. The upper half of the canvas is given to a vertical forest of masts beyond which the architecture of Marseille is glimpsed.

The dynamic composition and accomplished use of colour and animated brushwork creates an arresting image. He avoids the social critique often associated with contemporary Realist imagery, presenting labour as part of the harbour’s natural rhythm rather than a subject for political debate. This reflects the artist’s primary focus on visual rather than ideological concerns, while supporting the Third Republic’s goal to dignify productive work.