Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

who, with

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , ; ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough ...

, helped develop the artistic technique

Pointillism Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism ...

Biography

Paul-Victor-Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. His parents wanted him to study

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

but, as he said, his preference was to draw the Seine. He was particularly affected by an 1880 exhibition of

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

's work. Signac began boating. In 1884 he met

and

. He was struck by the systematic working methods of Seurat and by his theory of colors and he became Seurat's faithful supporter, friend, and heir with his description of

Neo-Impressionism Neo-Impressionism is a term coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat's most renowned masterpiece, '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'', marked the begin ...

and

Divisionism Divisionism, also called chromoluminarism, is the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches that interact optically..Homer, William I. ''Seurat and the Science of Pain ...

method. Under Seurat's influence he abandoned the short brushstrokes of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

to experiment with scientifically-juxtaposed small dots of pure color, intended to combine and blend not on the canvas, but in the viewer's eye, the defining feature of

. The Mediterranean coast is a major theme across Signac's paintings. He left the capital each summer, to stay in the south of France in the village of Collioure or at St. Tropez, where he bought a house and invited his friends. He envisioned the south of France as the perfect location for a future anarchist utopia. Signac, Albert Dubois-Pillet,

Odilon Redon Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; ; 20 April 18406 July 1916) was a French Symbolist painting, Symbolist draftsman, printmaker, and painter. Early in his career, both before and after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, Redon worked almost exc ...

, and Seurat were among the founders of the

Société des Artistes Indépendants The Société des Artistes Indépendants (, ''Society of Independent Artists'') or Salon des Indépendants was formed in Paris on 29 July 1884. The association began with the organization of massive exhibitions in Paris, choosing the slogan "''sa ...

. The association began in Paris 29 July 1884 with the organization of massive exhibitions, embracing as their motto, "Neither jury nor awards" (''Sans jury ni récompense''). "The purpose of Société des Artistes Indépendants—based on the principle of abolishing admission jury—is to allow the artists to present their works to public judgement with complete freedom". For the following three decades their annual exhibitions flourished and set the trends in art of the early twentieth century. Signac was a guiding force in the Société and was its President from 1908 until his death. Paul Signac - Capo di Noli

In 1886 Signac met

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. During 1887 the two artists regularly went to

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

together, where they painted such subjects as river landscapes and cafés. Initially, Van Gogh chiefly admired Signac's loose painting technique. Signac would also meet Toulouse Lautrec who was a friend of Van Gogh. In March 1889, Signac visited Van Gogh at

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

. In 1890, during the banquet of the XX exhibition in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Lautrec challenged to a duel the artist Henri de Groux who criticized Van Gogh's works. Signac declared he would continue to fight for Van Gogh’s honor if Lautrec was killed. De Groux apologized for the slight and left the group and the duel never took place. The next year he made a short trip to Italy, seeing

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. In 1888, Signac discovered

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

ideas by reading

Élisée Reclus Jacques Élisée Reclus (; 15 March 18304 July 1905) was a French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork, ''La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes'' ("Universal Geography"), over a period of ...

Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later ...

, and Jean Grave, who all developed the ideas of anarchist communism. With his friends Angrand Cross, Maximilien Luce, and

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( ; ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). ...

he contributed to Jean Grave's paper, ''Les Temps Nouveaux'' (New Times). In 1892, he sailed the Garonne River southeast in France to the Mediterranean Sea, spending time in Saint-Tropez. Signac experimented with various media. As well as oil paintings and watercolors he made

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

, and many pen-and-ink sketches composed of small, laborious dots. The Neo-Impressionists influenced the next generation: Signac inspired Henri Matisse and

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States. Life and career Early ...

in particular, thus playing a decisive role in the evolution of

Fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

. Signac himself did not admire the style when it first appeared. Having prospered well, his financial support of the arts was considerable. As donations, he sent regular cheques and made a gift of his works for five lotteries between 1895 and 1912. Signac's 1893 painting, ''In the Time of Harmony'' originally was entitled, ''In the Time of Anarchy'', but political repression targeting the anarchists in France at this time forced him to change the title before the work could be accepted by a gallery. At the 1905 Salon des Indépendants,

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

exhibited the proto- Fauve painting '' Luxe, Calme et Volupté''. The brightly colored composition was painted in 1904 after a summer spent working in St. Tropez on the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

alongside the neo-Impressionist painters

Henri-Edmond Cross Henri-Edmond Cross (; 20 May 1856 – 16 May 1910), born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix (), was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase ...

and Paul Signac. The painting is Matisse's most important work in which he used the Divisionist technique advocated by Signac, which Matisse had adopted in 1898 after reading Signac's essay, ''d'Eugène Delacroix au Néo-Impressionnisme''. Signac purchased the work after the 1905 Salon des Indépendants. In 1908 Signac was elected president of the Twenty-fourth Salon des Indépendants.Russell T. Clement, ''Les Fauves: A Sourcebook'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994
As president of the

, from 1908 until his death, Signac encouraged younger artists by exhibiting the controversial works of the Fauves and the Cubists. He was the first patron to buy a painting by Matisse. Signac served as a juror with Florence Meyer Blumenthal in awarding the ''

Prix Blumenthal The Prix Blumenthal (or ''Blumenthal Prize'') was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-Am ...

'', a grant given between 1919 and 1954 to painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians.

Personal life

On 7 November 1892, Signac married Berthe Roblès at the town hall of the

18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements, or administrative districts, of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as '' ...

. The witnesses at the wedding were Alexandre Lemonier, Maximilien Luce,

, and Georges Lecomte. In November 1897, the Signacs moved to a new apartment in the '' Castel Béranger'', which was built by

Hector Guimard Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building i ...

. A little later, in December of the same year, they acquired a house in

Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...

named, ''La Hune'', where the painter had a vast studio constructed that he inaugurated on 16 August 1898. In September 1913, Signac rented a house at

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

, where he took up residence with Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange. She gave birth to their daughter, Ginette, on 2 October 1913. Meanwhile, Signac left ''La Hune'' and the ''Castel Beranger'' apartment to Berthe and they remained friends for the rest of his life. On 6 April 1927, Signac formally adopted Ginette. His granddaughter, Françoise Cachin, was an art historian. Paul Signac died from

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

in Paris on 15 August 1935 at the age of 71. His body was cremated and was interred three days later, on 18 August, at the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

Author

Signac wrote several important works on the theory of art, among them, ''From Eugène Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism'', first published in serial form in 1898. It is an important history of color and explanation of neo-impressionist technique. It also discusses Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819–1891). Signac also authored several introductions to the catalogues of art exhibitions and many other writings yet to be published. Politically, he was an

, as were many of his friends, including

Félix Fénéon Félix Fénéon (; 22 June 1861 – 29 February 1944) was a French art critic, gallery director, writer and anarchist during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He coined the term '' Neo-Impressionism'' in 1886 to identify a group of ...

, Maximilien Luce and

Gallery

File:Paul Signac Road to Gennevilliers.jpg, alt=painting, ''Road to Gennevilliers'', 1883,

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

, Paris File:Comblat-le-Chateau. Le Pré.jpg, alt=painting, ''Comblat le Chateau. Le Pré.'', 1886,

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

File:Paul Signac - Les Andelys, Côte d'Aval - 1993.208 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, ''Les Andelys, Côte d'Aval'', 1886, oil on canvas, 60 × 92 cm,

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

File:Paul Signac - Gasometers at Clichy - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Gasometers at Clichy'', 1886,

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

, Melbourne File:Paul Signac Dimanche.jpg, ''Sunday (Dimanche)'', 1889, Private Collection File:Paul Signac - Cassis, Cap Lombard, Opus 196 - Google Art Project.jpg, alt=painting, '' Cassis, Cap Lombard, Opus 196'', 1889,

Kunstmuseum Den Haag The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. I ...

, The Hague File:Le Port au soleil couchant, Opus 236 (Saint-Tropez) by Paul Signac, 1892.jpg, ''The Port at Sunset'', 1892, Museum Barberini, Potsdam File:Place des Lices Paul Signac.jpg, ''Place des Lices'', 1893, oil on canvas,

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum was originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was formerly located ...

, Pittsburgh File:Paul Signac - The Bonaventure Pine - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Bonaventure Pine'', 1893,

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...

File:Paul signac saint-tropez fontaine des lices.jpg, ''Saint-Tropez. Fontaine des Lices'', 1895,

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. It is one of several museums affiliated to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish a ...

File:Golfe Juan by Paul Signac (1863-1935) - IMG 7171.JPG, alt=painting, ''Golfe-Juan'', ca. 1896,

Worcester Art Museum The Worcester Art Museum houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. The museum opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Its holdings include Roman mosaics, Europe ...

File:Le Démolisseur P Signac Nancy 2718.jpg, ''Le Démolisseur'', c. 1897-1899,

, Paris File:Paul Signac - The Port of Saint-Tropez - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Port of Saint-Tropez'', 1901, oil on canvas, 131 x 161.5 cm (51.6 x 63.6 in),

National Museum of Western Art The is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition. The museum is in the Ueno Park in Taitō, central Tokyo. It received 1,162,345 visitors in 2016. History The NMWA was established on June 10, 1959 ...

, Tokyo File:Paul Signac, Grand Canal (Venise).jpg, alt=painting, ''Grand Canal (Venice)'', 1905,

Toledo Museum of Art The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...

, Toledo, Ohio File:Paul Signac, 1905, The Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice, oil on canvas, 129.5 x 162.6 cm, Chrysler Museum of Art.jpg, '' The Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice'', 1905 oil on canvas, 129.5 x 162.6 cm, Chrysler Museum of Art File:Paul Signac - Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde (La Bonne Mere) (1905-06, Marseilles, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York Collection).jpg, alt=painting, ''Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde (La Bonne-Mère) Marseilles'', 1905–06,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

File:Paul Signac - The Port of Rotterdam - Google Art Project.jpg, alt=painting, ''The Port of Rotterdam'', 1907,

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from its two most important donors, Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. The museum is located a ...

File:Signac, Paul - The Harbour at Marseilles.jpg, '' The Port of Marseille'', 1907,

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

File:Paul Signac, 1909, The Pine Tree at Saint Tropez, oil on canvas, 72 x 92 cm, Pushkin Museum, Moscow.jpg, alt=painting, '' The Pine Tree at Saint Tropez'', 1909,

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

, Moscow File:Paul Signac - Antibes, die Türme.jpeg, alt=painting, ''Antibes'', 1911, Albertina, Vienna File:Signac, Antibes, le soir ( Musée d'art moderne et contemporain de Strasbourg ).jpg, ''Antibes le soir'', 1914,

Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art The Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg (MAMCS, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) is an art museum in Strasbourg, France, which was founded in 1973 and opened in its own building in November 1998. One of the largest of its k ...

File:Paul Signac - The Pink Cloud, Antibes.jpg, ''Antibes, The Pink Cloud,'' 1916, oil on canvas, 92 x 36 cm (36 x 28 in), Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston File:Paul Signac, 1921, Entrée du port de la Rochelle, oil on canvas, 130.5 x 162 cm, Musée d'Orsay.jpg, alt=painting, ''Entrée du port de la Rochelle'', 1921, oil on canvas, 130.5 x 162 cm (51.4 × 63.8 in),

File:Signac - Port of Concarneau, 1925.jpg, ''Port of Concarneau'', 1925,

Artizon Museum Artizon Museum , until 2018 , is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. The museum was founded in 1952 by the founder of Bridgestone Tire Co., Shojiro Ishibashi, Ishibashi Shojiro (his family name means stone bridge). The museum's collections include I ...

, Tokyo

Illustrations in periodicals

* ''L'almanach de Cocagne pour l'an 1920–1922, Dédié aux vrais Gourmands Et aux Francs Buveurs'' (1921), published by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

and Bertrand Guégan (1892–1943) * ''La Gerbe'' (Nantes),

periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

Notes

References

* * ''Signac 1863–1935'', Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris 2001 * ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1988, Volume 10, Micropædia, pg. 796

External links

Works by Signac at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris
* Finding Aid for Paul Signac letters and Signac family correspondence, 1860–1935, Getty Research Institute
Woodcuts by Paul Signac, Henriette Tirman, Henri Ottmann and others, ''La Gebre'', 1921/04 (A3, N31), Gallica, BnF

Detail about Paul Signac's 1886 three month visit to Les Andelys that crystallised his theories around Pointillism.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Signac, Paul 1863 births 1935 deaths 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French Orientalist painters Painters from Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Divisionist painters French anarchists French male painters Peintres de la Marine Pointillism French Post-impressionist painters Prix Blumenthal