Paul Signac (1863-1935)

A Neo-Impressionist painter who worked alongside Georges Seurat to develop Pointillism

Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on November 11th 1863.

He started studying architecture, but was captured by painting at the age of 18 whilst visiting an exhibition by leading impressionist Claude Monet. This influenced him, his colour choices, and his development during his early period.

In July 1884 Signac founded the Société des Artistes Indépendants with fellow artist Georges Seurat. Their salon broke with the principle of artists only being admitted to the salon by a jury vote. Thanks to Signac and Seurat’s passion for freedom for the artists, this approach of artists being judged by the public not a jury grew for more than three decades.

Signac helped George Seurat develop Pointillism, using Seurat’s understanding of colour and the Neo-Impressionism or Divisionism era was born. Using a scientific approach, the small pure coloured dots were applied to the canvas to be turned by the viewers eye (and brain) into the ‘blend’ that made the painting work. Later Signac started to use small mosaic squares almost tiles of colour to build up his paintings (take a look at The Pine Tree at Saint Tropez 1909 for an example – Pushkin Museum, Moscow).

Signac loved the coast and sailing and in 1892 sailed a small boat around the ports of France. You will see coastlines and boats influence his choice of subjects with coastal landscapes and seascapes appearing regularly. He experimented beyond oils with watercolours, pen & ink, etchings and lithographs and became wealthy within his lifetime. 1892 was the same year he married his wife Berthe Roblès in Paris.

He influenced Matisse and Derain in the late 1890’s although he was not taken by early Fauvism works, but at the end of 1905 Salon des Indépendants he purchased Luxe, Calme et Volupté by Matisse.

In 1908 Paul Signac was elected president the Société des Artistes Indépendants and was a supporter of young artists finding their artistic freedom in the growing Fauvism and Cubist movements.

He died in 1935 and will be remembered as a leader of the neo-impressionism movement and pointillist style of painting.

Paul Signac work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, Pushkin Museum, Moscow and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Sources: www