Marquet began studies in 1892 at the École des Beaux-Arts under Gustave Moreau, a symbolist artist who was a follower of the Romantic tradition of Eugène Delacroix.

His early compositions were characterised by a Fauvist approach, in which he had a fine control of the drawing and responded to light, not only by intensifying the strongest tones, but also by seeing the weaker ones in coloristic terms.

Marquet and Matisse were already painting together in pure colors as far back as 1898 in the Arcueil and at the Luxembourg Gardens in what was later to be called the Fauve style.

The fundamental difference between the two is that while Matisse used strong colors, Marquet favored grayed yellows, greyed violets or blues.

Another difference is that Marquet used an approximation of traditional perspective, although his colors and compositions constantly referred to the rectangle and cut its plane with their calligraphy.

Among European cities Marquet remained impressed particularly with Naples and Venice where he painted the sea and boats, accenting the light over water.

The water stays at a right angle to the picture plane and the large ships float with ease, with their reflections exactly the correct tone to project the required space.

[4] During his voyages to Germany and Sweden he painted the subjects he usually preferred: river and sea views, ports and ships, but also cityscapes.

Marquet's death was unexpected and sudden from a gall bladder attack and subsequently discovered cancer, for which at that time there was no therapy.