Paul Signac
Today we continue our special month with the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen's collection. Enjoy! :)
Paul Signac visited Rotterdam in 1906 and was impressed by the city’s vitality. On a postcard showing a view of the port, he wrote, 'From my window! So much hustle and bustle! Am enthusiastic, but amazed." Signac made numerous sketches and watercolors of the view from his room in the Victoria Hotel in Willemsplein. One of them, a large drawing in various shades of black and gray, is also in the museum’s collection. He painted The Port of Rotterdam after his return to France. The work is notable for its light, vivid colors. Rendered mainly in pink, pale green, and lilac tones, the scene looks French rather than Dutch. Signac produced a sparkling work rendered in loose, block-like brushstrokes that evoke the energy of the busy port. He emphasized its sunny side rather than its industrial function.
Signac was one of the initiators of Pointillism. The style, based on color theories, was developed in France as a reaction to Impressionism. It relies on the principle that dots of pure color applied to a surface will appear to blend together when viewed from a distance. In Signac’s harbor scene the relatively large, angular brushstrokes remain distinct, but give the work a decorative effect.
P.S. Pointillism was a unique art movement. Take a short tour through some of the most spectacular Pointillist landscapes!
P.P.S. If you're a fan of such scenes, you should check out our beautiful Sea, Ships & Beaches 50 Postcards Set! :)