In Port

Oil and sand on cardboard. 153 x 120 cm
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Inv. no. 555

In Port is not only a statement in favour of Cubism but also a tribute by Albert Gleizes to the modern metropolis through a jumble of images of the port of Barcelona and the city of New York. A comparison of this painting with a photograph of Barcelona port at the beginning of the century shows that whereas the jagged outline of the buildings on the left is consonant with real life, the towers of the Vía Laietana, the cathedral and the church of Santa María del Mar have clearly been schematised in the painting. Distinguishable references to New York include the characteristic suspension cables of Brooklyn bridge. In addition, the undulating areas that can be made out among all these superimpositions represent the wake of a boat and the waves lapping the harbor. Christopher Green considers that the central theme of the painting is transport on account of the presence of the sea, the port buildings and the boat’s prow, and states that “the port represents the flow of experience through the space and time.”