Paul Signac the Rational, Warm Hearted Sailor

Pointillism is a scientific method of mixing colour optically by juxtaposing tiny coloured spots so that when grouped in a variety of ways, secondary and tertiary colours are created in the minds eye.

Signac was a sailor who travelled about by small boat visiting almost all the ports of France, Holland, and the Mediterranean. The inspired artist sketched rapidly and with highly intuitive spontaneity.  The speed with which he worked meant that his preparational drawings and watercolours were vibrant, colorful energetic and alive. He then painted larger canvases back in his studio.   Here he could slow down, spread out and be mathematically precise. In working this way, he was able to have the best of both worlds. He captured the majesty of the nautical land/seascapes, and then he refined his paintings by developing them through formulaic principles.

The pointillistic process was something akin to creating a mosaic.  The beauty was enhanced because the work could be extremely finely detailed.  Because the paintings were consummated with a fluid medium, the effect was softened and a translucent effect was achieved.  Many of the works have a breathtaking peaceful aura about them.

Signac worked with oils, watercolors, etchings, lithographs, and when working with pen and ink he  laboriously executed pointillist sketches.  Signac inspired Henri Matisse and André Derain and this modeling in turn influenced Fauvism.

Look at the darker blue that throws the yellows of the The Pink Cloud forward.  This use of colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel  enables modeling of the clouds into a sculptural form. There is nothing wishy washy about this painting.   It is solid, energetic and dynamic. And yet, there is a peaceful harmony created by the placement of shapes within the composition. Horizontal lines on the horizon work with the complimentary nature of green and pink to evoke the peaceful, settled feeling of the sun slowly sinking at the end of a nautical day.