Paul Signac's Color Harmonies at Musée Jacquemart-André
The Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris presents 'Signac, les harmonies colorées', a major exhibition dedicated to Paul Signac (1863-1935), running until July 19, 2021. The show juxtaposes Signac's luminous Neo-Impressionist works with the opulent 19th-century interiors of the hôtel particulier on Boulevard Haussmann, creating a striking contrast between the anarchist artist and the bourgeois collectors Édouard and Nélie André. The exhibition traces Signac's stylistic evolution from Post-Impressionism to the liberation of color, featuring works by friends Georges Seurat, Camille Pissarro, Maximilien Luce, and Henri-Edmond Cross. Signac, a painter, theorist, and president of the Société des Artistes Indépendants from 1908 to 1934, was a key figure in Neo-Impressionism, known for his divisionist technique. The show includes eight chronological rooms covering his early Impressionist phase, the birth of Neo-Impressionism, watercolors, and his later chromatic freedom. Signac's quest for harmony, both in life and art, is highlighted, with references to his travels to Venice, London, and Saint-Tropez, where he found happiness. The exhibition also explores his political anarchism and his role as a mentor, earning him the nickname 'Saint Paul of Neo-Impressionism' from Thadée Natanson.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Signac, les harmonies colorées' at Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris
- Runs until July 19, 2021
- Focuses on Paul Signac (1863-1935) and Neo-Impressionism
- Venue is the hôtel particulier at 158 boulevard Haussmann
- Contrast between Signac's anarchist ideals and the bourgeois André couple
- Includes works by Seurat, Pissarro, Luce, and Cross
- Eight chronological rooms covering Signac's career
- Signac was president of the Société des Artistes Indépendants (1908-1934)
- Nicknamed 'Saint Paul of Neo-Impressionism' by Thadée Natanson
- Signac discovered his calling after seeing Monet's first solo exhibition in 1880
- Met Seurat in 1884 at the founding of the Société des Artistes Indépendants
- Applied Chevreul's color theory to divisionism
- Term 'Neo-Impressionist' coined by Félix Fénelon in September 1886
- Signac's later work moved toward chromatic liberation from naturalism
- Quoted from his 1898 London diary: 'One must be free of all ideas of imitation and copy'
- Exhibition evokes places Signac loved: Venice, European ports, Saint-Tropez
- In 1892, Signac wrote to his mother about Saint-Tropez: 'It is happiness that I have discovered'
Entities
Artists
- Paul Signac
- Georges Seurat
- Camille Pissarro
- Maximilien Luce
- Henri-Edmond Cross
- Claude Monet
- Eugène Chevreul
- Félix Fénelon
- Thadée Natanson
Institutions
- Musée Jacquemart-André
- Société des Artistes Indépendants
- Revue Blanche
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Boulevard Haussmann
- Venice
- Italy
- London
- United Kingdom
- Saint-Tropez
- Europe