Paul SIGNAC, 1863 - 1935
La Rochelle, c. 1920
Watercolor, heightened with gouache and pencil bold on paper
h: 29 w: 44 cm
Private collection
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.
La Rochelle was founded during the 10th century and became an important harbour in the 12th century.] The establishment of La Rochelle as a harbour was a consequence of the victory of Duke Guillaume X of Aquitaine over Isambert de Châtelaillon in 1130. In 1137, Guillaume X to all intents and purposes made La Rochelle a free port and gave it the right to establish itself as a commune. Fifty years later Eleanor of Aquitaine upheld the communal charter promulgated by her father, and for the first time in France, a city mayor was appointed for La Rochelle, Guillaume de Montmirail. Guillaume was assisted in his responsibilities by 24 municipal magistrates, and 75 notables who had jurisdiction over the inhabitants. Under the communal charter, the city obtained many privileges, such as the right to mint its own coins, and to operate some businesses free of royal taxes, factors which would favour the development of the entrepreneurial middle-class (bourgeoisie). More on La Rochelle
Paul Signac, (born Nov. 11, 1863,
Paris, France—died Aug. 15, 1935, Paris) French painter who, with
Georges Seurat, developed the technique called pointillism.
When he was 18, Signac gave up the study of architecture for
painting and, through Armand Guillaumin, became a convert to the colouristic
principles of Impressionism. In 1884 Signac helped found the Salon des
Indépendants. There he met Seurat, whom he initiated into the broken-colour
technique of Impressionism. The two went on to develop the method they called
pointillism, which became the basis of Neo-Impressionism. They continued to
apply pigment in minute dabs of pure colour, as had the Impressionists, but
they adopted an exact, almost scientific system of applying the dots, instead
of the somewhat intuitive application of the earlier masters. In watercolours
Signac used the principle in a much freer manner. After 1886 he took part
regularly in the annual Salon des Indépendants, to which he sent landscapes,
seascapes, and decorative panels. Being a sailor, Signac traveled widely along
the European coast, painting the landscapes he encountered. In his later years
he painted scenes of Paris, Viviers, and other French cities.
Signac produced much critical writing and was the author of
From Eugène Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism (1899) and Jongkind (1927). The
former book is an exposition of pointillism, while the latter is an insightful
treatise on watercolour painting. More on Paul Signac
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