Albert Marquet Exhibition at the SOMPO Museum of Art Until December 13; Oils and Drawings of the Seine and Harbors

The “50th Anniversary Exhibition: Albert Marquet” is on view at the SOMPO Museum of Art (Shinjuku, Tokyo) from Tuesday, September 22 to Sunday, December 13, 2026. The museum describes it as the first full-scale solo exhibition in Japan in 35 years of the French painter Albert Marquet (1875–1947). With the cooperation of French public museums, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, and museums in Japan, about 90 works trace the development of his style from his early years to his last. About 25 drawings and other works on paper are changed during the exhibition, with the second period running from Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday).

What kind of painter was Albert Marquet?

Marquet was born in 1875 in Bordeaux, a port city in southwestern France. In 1890 he moved to Paris with his mother and studied at the École nationale des arts décoratifs. In 1892 he met Henri Matisse, and the following year he entered Gustave Moreau’s studio at the École des Beaux-Arts. In the studio, he became close friends with Manguin, Rouault, Camoin and others.

The works he showed with his friends at the 1905 Salon d’Automne were dubbed “Fauves” (wild beasts) and caused a scandal. Having started out as a Fauvist painter, Marquet later came to value concise compositions based on observation and restrained tones over intense color. His subjects were the banks of the Seine, ports, coastlines and cityscapes, which he painted while traveling around France, North Africa and the Mediterranean coast.

In January 1908, he set up a studio on the 6th floor of 19 quai Saint-Michel in Paris. In the winter of 1915, he accompanied Matisse, who strongly urged him to avoid the unsettled situation in Paris, to Marseille, and from then until the end of the war he spent nearly half of every year in the port city. From 1920 onward he frequently visited French Algeria. In 1931 he moved into an apartment at 1 rue Dauphine, which became his final home, and from 1939 he also stayed in La Frette, a village on the Seine northwest of Paris. He died in 1947 and is buried in the cemetery at La Frette.

Why Marquet now? The museum’s 50th anniversary

In France, a retrospective was held at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris in 2016. This exhibition has the curator of that show, Sophie Krebs, as its academic advisor.

The venue, the SOMPO Museum of Art, opened in July 1976 as the Seiji Togo Museum of Art on the 42nd floor of the headquarters building of Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance (now Sompo Japan). It took its current name in April 2020 and moved in July of that year to a new museum building on the grounds of the Sompo Japan headquarters. This exhibition commemorates the museum’s 50th anniversary, and the museum also presents it as a retrospective marking the 150th anniversary of Marquet’s birth. Western art exhibitions on view this autumn and winter are compiled in our guide to Western art exhibitions, and Tokyo exhibitions in general in our guide to autumn and winter exhibitions in Tokyo.

What can be seen? About 90 works in five chapters

According to a press release dated June 12, 2026, the exhibition consists of five chapters. Works come from French public museums, led by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, which holds the largest collection of Marquet’s work, as well as from major museums in Japan and private collectors.

1. “Formative Years: In the Midst of Fauvism”: 1898 to 1906, when he was immersed in the Fauvist current

2. “Variations on the Waterside: The Traveling Painter”: rivers, seas, ports and other waterside scenes painted on his lifelong travels

3. “In Love with Algiers”: landscapes of Algeria, which he visited often from 1920 onward, filled with clear light

4. “Late Years: The Seine and the Pont Neuf Series”: the flow of the Seine, which he loved all his life and painted again and again

5. “Drawings and Illustrated Books”: drawings, an important means of expression throughout his life, and illustrated books

Major oil paintings include “Nude, Known as the Fauve Nude” (1898, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux), “Le Havre, the Dock” (1906, Musée d’art moderne André Malraux), “Naples, Sailing Boat” (1909, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux), “Horses in Marseille” (1916, same) and “The Allied Fleet in Algiers” (1942, same). The late work “The Pont Neuf and the Samaritaine” (1940) is in the collection of the Hiroshima Museum of Art. According to the list of works, many loans also come from Japanese museums, such as the National Museum of Western Art’s “Seated Nude” (1912), the Ohara Museum of Art’s “Port of Marseille” (1916) and the Pola Museum of Art’s “Winter Sun, Paris” (1904).

Among the drawings, “A Happy Man” (1904, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux) is shown only in the first period, and “Marseille, Mediterranean Port” (1916, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie de Besançon, on deposit from the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris) only in the second period. Charles-Louis Philippe’s “Bubu de Montparnasse,” illustrated by Marquet (made around 1903, published 1958), is also on display. From the museum’s own collection, Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and Cézanne’s “Apples and Napkin” are also shown.

Tickets, prices and how to avoid the crowds

Admission for adults (26 and over) is 2,000 yen for same-day tickets and 1,800 yen for advance tickets. For those 25 and under, same-day tickets are 1,200 yen and advance tickets 1,100 yen; proof of date of birth is required. Elementary, junior high and high school students and holders of a disability certificate are admitted free, and up to one caregiver may also be admitted free. Group tickets are not sold. Advance tickets are available through the official e-ticket service, e+, Lawson Ticket, Seven Ticket and others until Sunday, December 13 (until 17:00 for official e-tickets and until 12:00 for the others). Official e-tickets are scanned on a smartphone at entry; printed tickets and screenshots are not accepted.

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Mondays (open on November 23) and on November 24. According to the museum’s FAQ, crowds are expected around 10:00, just after opening, while the morning and evening hours are relatively quiet. Same-day crowding can be checked on the museum’s website, and entry may be restricted when it is crowded. On Culture Day, Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), the first 300 visitors received a commemorative gift.

The museum is located at 1-26-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. It is a 5-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Shinjuku Station and from Shinjuku Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, a 6-minute walk from Nishi-Shinjuku Station on the Marunouchi Line (Exit C13) and a 7-minute walk from Tochomae Station on the Toei Oedo Line (Exit A1). There is no dedicated parking. Ways to combine the visit with Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery and ICC in Hatsudai, the university museums in Waseda and other venues are compiled in our Shinjuku, Hatsudai and Waseda art guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take photos?

Some works in the exhibition may be photographed. However, visitors are asked to refrain from taking commemorative photos with the works or selfies. According to the museum, tripods, flash, photos that include people and video recording are not permitted.

Is there an audio guide?

The guide is narrated by voice actor Toshiki Masuda and covers 17 works in about 30 minutes. It costs 700 yen per device (tax included), and there is no app version.

Can I re-enter the museum?

According to the museum’s FAQ, re-entry is not permitted, so keep this in mind if you plan to go out for a meal. Bags can be left in free lockers (no coins needed) on the 1st floor.

Overview

Name: 50th Anniversary Exhibition: Albert Marquet
Dates: Tuesday, September 22 – Sunday, December 13, 2026 (first period: until Sunday, November 1; second period: from Tuesday, November 3, national holiday)
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 23), November 24
Venue: SOMPO Museum of Art
Address: 1-26-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Admission: Adults (26 and over) same-day ticket 2,000 yen, advance ticket 1,800 yen. 25 and under same-day ticket 1,200 yen, advance ticket 1,100 yen. Free for elementary, junior high and high school students and holders of a disability certificate
Organizers: SOMPO Museum of Art, The Tokyo Shimbun, Kyodo News
Special sponsor: SOMPO Holdings
Special cooperation: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Sompo Japan
Official website: https://www.sompo-museum.org/exhibitions/2025/albertmarquet/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Albert Marquet, “Le Havre, the Harbor,” 1906, oil on canvas, Musée d’art moderne André Malraux, Le Havre © MuMa Le Havre / Charles Maslard (from a press release by the SOMPO Museum of Art)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on a press release from the SOMPO Museum of Art (June 12, 2026) and information on its official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team