The Quiet Observer of the French Coast Born in Sens, France, Paul Pompon spent his life watching the shifting light and the heavy movements of the sea. His work emerged during the second half of the 19th century, a time when the textures of maritime life were being captured with a steady, unhurried hand. He did not seek to reinvent the world, but rather to record it as it appeared through the salt spray and the changing tides. His co…