One of the most important British artist's of the twentieth century, Sickert nevertheless spent much of his time abroad. His family regularly holidayed in Dieppe, Sickert, himself, went to live there in 1898 and in the early years of the twentieth century he visited frequently to paint. Between 1898 and 1905, apart from extended stays in Venice. Sickert focused on the town and especially its grand civic spaces, including the Gothic Cathedral of St Jacques and the Halle au Lin, which he painted several times between 1899 and 1902.