Orsay

Entrance to the port of La Rochelle

Paul Signac. 1921.

This work is a painting of the modern period belonging to post-impressionism and landscape styles.

In 1839 a very complex work appears, which is called "From the law of the simultaneous contrast of colors". Its author, Eugene Chevreul, explains how our eye can in some cases mix colors that would be presented side by side. Some artists seize this discovery that they combine with the impressionism. This is the birth of "divisionism". Seurat first, then Signac will use this technique of dividing the key into small dots of color and let our eyes do the rest!

"Is he not an artist, the one who strives to create unity in variety through the rhythms of hues and tones and puts his science at the service of his sensations? The sensations more than the impressions will compel the admiration of Signac, a painter of undeniable talent and a poetically scientific vision. Born in 1863, adored by his mother and too soon fatherless, Paul Signac turned very early to painting, and first student of Emile Bin, is subsequently formed alone, despite he was under impressionist influence. Binding with Seurat and Pissarro, Signac develops his technique in a more intuitive way, always favoring the luminosity, which he considers as primordial. His works, such as Calanque (1906), The Grand Canal of Venice (1905), Notre-Dame-de-La-Garde (1906) or Les Andelys, Château Gaillard (1921), are all imbued with such a radiance that, once admired, they mark the heart forever.