Paul Signac
1863-1935
Inspired by a Monet exhibition in 1880, Signac decided to concentrate on landscapes, and painted at first in the Impressionist style. He was one of the founder members of the Salon des Indépendants in 1884 and in the same year he met Seurat with whom he worked closely in the creation of Neo-Impressionism, the style he used for the rest of his life. After Seurat's death in 1891, he continued to lead the group. As theoretician, he wrote D'Eugene Delacroix au Néo-Impressionisme (1899). In 1892 he discovered the little Provencal port of Saint-Tropez, which was then completely unspoiled, and attracted many painters to it. He visited Collioure and Port-en-Bessin, Holland, Italy and Istanbul, in a succession of small yachts, and brought back innumerable watercolours, from which he painted large and more elaborate oils in his studio. In 1908 he became President of the Société des Artistes Indépendants, and encouraged many young artists, including Matisse. Signac gave musical subtitles to many of his works, indicating qualities such as 'rhythm' and 'tempo' which he must have had in mind. His watercolours, more lyrical and less systematized than his oil paintings, are among his finest works.
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