Early morning, Boulogne

Hector Caffieri travelled regularly to the French coastal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer where he drew the fisherfolk and children and made studies of quaysides and coastal scenes. His loose, painterly style combined watercolour and dilute bodycolour in a decorative manner. He favoured compositions with the masts and rigging of fishing boats silhouetted against misty skies. He used a palette of pale greys, ochres, yellows, blues (mostly for clothing) and reds, manipulating the fluid pigment to create diffuse effects.