Portrait d'Albert Sarraut

Henri Martin's 1897 portrait of Albert Sarraut, held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne, depicts a significant figure in French Third Republic politics. Sarraut (1872–1962) would go on to become a senator, twice Prime Minister of France, and a leading figure in the Radical Party. The portrait date of 1897 places it very early in his career — he was twenty-five, recently active in journalism and politics in the Aude department, whose capital is Carcassonne. Martin, who was himself based in the south-west, would have had natural personal and political connections to a rising figure of Radical politics in the region. The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne is an appropriate repository for this local connection. Portrait commissions from notable regional figures were central to the economic sustenance of French provincial painters, and Martin's divisionist technique required adaptation for portraiture — the broken touch that served atmospheric landscapes needed modifying to render the specific individuality of a human face.

Oil on canvas with Martin's divisionist manner somewhat moderated for portraiture. The face requires more cohesive tonal modelling than a landscape subject — pure divisionist touch would dissolve the face's form and reduce legibility. Martin typically made pragmatic adjustments in his portraits, using smaller, more blended strokes in facial areas while maintaining the broken technique in background and clothing.