In 1900 Martin bought Marquayrol, a large seventeenth-century villa which overlooked the village of Labastide-du-Vert in the Lot department of South-Western France. This was the first of three houses he bought in the Languedoc region, where he spent the summer months away from Paris. The acquisition of Marquayrol marked a turning point for Martin, who abandoned the figure to focus on landscape painting. Captivated by the southern light, he painted the surrounding countryside, nearby villages and river. However, his most intimate and idyllic paintings are of Marquayrol itself. Martin became extremely attached to the house and with his wife cultivated a beautiful Italianate garden, which provided major inspiration for works such as this.

Within his extensive garden Martin repeatedly painted his favourite elements including the terrace, the four pools and the iron gate. In ‘Le bassin aux cyprès avec le portillon’ he features one of the round pools in front of cypress trees and manicured hedges. The backdrop is enchantingly reflected in the central pool of water which lies still and endows the scene with a sense of tranquility, harmony and order. The fallen leaves and breeze in the trees indicate the change in seasons as autumn takes over from summer.

It was at Marquayrol that Martin's unique style, a synthesis of Impressionism with Pointillist brushwork, reached its maturity. Like his close friends Le Sidaner and Laurent, who had also come from a Symbolist background, he used divisionist techniques to convey mood and the “diverse effects” of nature. With swift brushstrokes and diffusely painted canvases he captured the light and atmosphere of the South of France. Marquayrol was as important to Martin as the gardens at Giverny were to Monet. Taking nature as his new “model of beauty”, he repeatedly painted his beloved garden using different colour schemes to characterize different times of day and year until the very end of his career.

‘Le bassin aux cyprès avec le portillon’ was previously in the collection of Matilda Geddings Gray, who alongside her niece Matilda Gray Stream, were known for their exquisite taste. They shaped an extraordinary private collection of art, jewellery and Fabergé.