Cassis was painted circa 1913 during Fergusson's trip there with fellow colourist, Cadell and Anne-Estelle Rice. He decided to visit the south of France after his Paris studio was demolished, feeling the need for better light and more colour, in this respect he was following the example set by the Fauvres.

Whilst in Cassis Fergusson painted with a new freshness and immediacy and his work of this period clearly owes an artistic dept to Cezanne, an influence that would endure in Fergusson's painting career.

There is a similar view of Cassis illustrated in Kirsten Simister's book: J.D Fergusson, Living Paint (p150, Cassis from the West, 1913. Plate 112, cat 66)