PAUL SIGNAC (1863 Paris 1935) Port-en-Bessin. Brick. 1884. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left: P. Signac. Signed and entitled verso on the stretcher: P. Signac Port-en-Bessin. 61.5 × 38 cm. Provenance: - The artist's studio. - With Galerie Goldschmidt, Frankfurt, purchased directly from the artist in 1921. - Private collection in Frankfurt, purchased from the above gallery before 1932 and in the family for three generations. Literature: Françoise Cachin: Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Paris 2000, p. 161, no. 73 (with ill.). Paul Signac first visited the fishing village of Port-en-Bessin in 1882, at the age of just seventeen. The young artist was enchanted by this picturesque seaside town in Normandy and returned the following summer, then again in 1884. During this third stay, Signac created a series of about a dozen paintings showing views of the harbour and the nearby beach. The importance of this place for the painting of other Neo-Impressionists is illustrated by the fact that the pointillist painter Georges Seurat, probably on Signac's recommendation, followed him to Port-en-Bessin four years later, in the summer of 1888. Seurat painted at least six of his own distinctive views of the place while visiting. Signac's painting "Port-en-Bessin. Brick" reflects his early admiration for the Impressionists, especially Claude Monet, who grew up in Normandy and painted the coast there in numerous series. In 1883, Signac visited an exhibition of Monet's painting series from Varengeville and Pourville in the Paris gallery Durand-Ruel et Cie. This experience clearly influenced Signac's own painting style. In this early work, Signac's intensive engagement with the Impressionist technique, the free and flowing brushstroke, is clearly visible. At the same time, however, the work also indicates the further development of his own pictorial language, which is characterised by a kaleidoscopic arrangement of colours and striking, staccato-like brushstrokes, already seen in the reflection of the ship on the surface of the water in this painting. The year 1884 represents a decisive turning point in the development of Signac's artistic style. In July, he took part in the first Salon des Artistes Indépendants, where he met his future companions in Neo-Impressionism for the first time: Georges Seurat and Henri-Edmond Cross. As "Port-en-Bessin. Brick" shows, Signac had already begun to develop his own artistic vision at this time. As Signac expert and curator Marina Ferretti aptly notes: "His first works show two characteristics that were to define his work: a clear preference for frontal, geometric compositions with little perspectival depth and a particular love of colour." (Signac, exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2001, p. 85) * The full tax is charged on this item marked * in the auction catalogue, i.e. VAT is charged on the sum of the bid price plus the surcharge for those items. The VAT will be refunded to Purchasers providing a validly stamped export declaration. ------------------------------------------------- PAUL SIGNAC (1863 Paris 1935) Port-en-Bessin. Brick. 1884. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left: P. Signac. Signed and titled verso on stretcher: P. Signac Port-en-Bessin. 61.5 × 38 cm. Provenance: - Studio of the artist. - Galerie Goldschmidt, Frankfurt, acquired directly from the artist in 1921. - Privately owned in Frankfurt, acquired in the above gallery before 1932 and in family ownership for three generations. Literature: Françoise Cachin: Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Paris 2000, p. 161, no. 73 (with illus.). Paul Signac first visited the fishing village of Port-en-Bessin in 1882, when he was only seventeen years old. The young artist was enchanted by the picturesque coastal town in Normandy and returned the following summer and again in 1884. During this third stay, Signac created a series of around a dozen paintings depicting views of the harbour and the nearby beach. The importance of this place for the painting of other Neo-Impressionists is demonstrated by the fact that the Pointillist painter Georges Seurat followed him to Port-en-Bessin four years later, in the summer of 1888, probably on Signac's recommendation. Seurat painted at least six of his own, unmistakable views of the town there. Signac's painting "Port-en-Bessin. Brick" reflects his early admiration for the Impressionists, especially Claude Monet, who grew up in Normandy and captured the coast there in numerous series. In 1883, Signac visited an exhibition of Monet's series from Varengeville and Pourville at the Galerie Durand-Ruel et Cie in Paris, an experience that clearly characterised Signac's own painterly style. Signac's intensive exploration of the Impressionist technique, the free and flowing brushstroke, is clearly recognisable in this early work. At the same time, however, the work already hints at the further development of his own pictorial language, which is characterised by a kaleidoscopic arrangement of colours and striking, staccato brushstrokes, which are already hinted at in this work in the reflection of the ship on the surface of the water. The year 1884 marked a decisive turning point in the development of Signac's artistic style. In July, he took part in the first Salon des Artistes Indépendants, where he met his future Neo-Impressionist companions for the first time: Georges Seurat and Henri-Edmond Cross. As "Port-en-Bessin. Brick" shows, Signac had already begun to develop his own artistic vision at this point. The Signac expert and curator Marina Ferretti aptly remarks: "His first works show two characteristics that were to shape his entire oeuvre: a clear preference for frontal, geometric compositions with little depth of perspective and a particular love of colour." (Exhib. cat. Signac, Metropolitan Museum of Art (ed.), New York 2001, p. 85). These objects marked with * (asterisk) are fully subject to VAT, i.e. VAT will be charged on the hammer price plus buyer's premium. Buyers who present a legally stamped export declaration will be reimbursed the VAT.