Signac, collector of avant-garde
Paul and his collection: his
relation to the oeuvre of Cézanne
Her grandmother set aside a large amount of money due to his subscription to the military service. By not getting into the army and having a large amount of money, he will buy himself a picture of Paul Cézanne, titled La plaine de Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, from the quarries of Chou (Vallée de l'Oise), painted in 1880. He will directly buy it from the Père Tanguy, a color merchant and one of the first collector and dealer of paintings of the impressionist.
In a way, this work was so contemporary, it was just out of the studio of Cézanne and out of the impressionist movement. By establishing his collection with a strong taste, at only 21, Signac will build up his personality as an avant-garde, and not a follower of the impressionist movement.
Following this acquisition for 100 francs (300 euros), and a small still life titled Trois Poires from 1878/1879, nowadays in the collection of National Gallery of Art from Washington D.C. and works from Paul Gauguin.
For Signac, the oeuvre of Cézanne is the bridge between the impressionist and the neo-impressionist. It's the shine of Monet, the contrast of Renoir and the movement and thickness of Cézanne. He will later say :
« en juxtaposant, par touches carrées et nettes, sans souci d’imitation ni d’adresse,
les éléments divers des teintes décomposées, il approcha davantage de la division méthodique des néo- impressionnistes. »
Signac and Seurat, the impressive collaboration
between two avant-garde
Therefore, when Signac met for the first time with Seurat, Signac initially continued to paint in the impressionist manner due to the influence of Monet, Renoir, etc. But everything changed during the winter of 1885-1886, when Seurat resumed his work on A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Nowadays in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago).
In this pivotal work and first masterpiece, Seurat start to use his new technique of juxtaposition of small touches of pure colors which, seen to blend at a distance due to the "optical mixture" of colors. During 2 years, this work will take birth in the atelier of the artist, and it's already an event in the relation of the two artists and in the definition of the neo-impressionist movement.
Camille Pissarro will join them in 1885 and Signac will make his first approach to the technique with The Milliners (Nowadays in the Emil G. Bührle Foundation/Collection), which will be remodeled from his impressionist to this new technique, while adding stripes and dots. He will later on try the technique with the urban landscape and along the Seine. At that time, his fully committed to the development and enrichment of the Neo-impressionism technique and group.
Later on, Signac will grow his collection with 14 paintings and 66 drawings of Seurat. Of course, the most important his The Cirque (Nowadays in the Musée d'Orsay), one of the six "struggle canvases" painted during the brief existence of the initiator of Neo-Impressionism. This collection will grow even more, when Seurat died in 1891, and Signac, Luce and Fénéon were in charge of the succession of all the works of Seurat, in his atelier.
The collection of a mentor and a painter
Ahead of his time, contemporary and friendly, this is how I can sum up the collection of Paul Signac. As he was very active in the Parisian art scene, and as he organized the Salons of the Society of Independent Artists, he got close to many household names, such as: Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Armand Guillaumin, Vincent Van Gogh, Maurice Denis, Odilon Redon, Henri Matisse, Maximilien Luce, Henri-Edmond Cross, Charles Angrand and Théo Van Rysselberghe. All of them will find a place in his collection, but how ?
First, he only focuses on artist so-called "avant-guardiste" or "contemporary", the prices are affordable and they are still alive. By doing so he can exchange a piece from his collection to another artist, and vice-versa, until he had what he wanted. But, it's not to get inspiration, it's for a pleasure, he loved to be surrounded by his friends, on his wall.
But, it was not always like that. When he bought and receive works from Seurat (drawings, studies, croquetons and painted sketches.), it was to teach him how to modify his technique, to feet into the "neo-impressionist". Later on, just to look and have pleasure.
From 1884 until 1900, the collection flourish and he acquired many Seurat's, including La Seine in Courbevoie (Exchanged with the artist) and a drawing titled La Banquiste (Bought in an auction in 1887), his portrait (Donated by Seurat) and Le cirque. Most of it due to the generosity of Georges Seurat, and after his death.
His collection will grow when Signac will have a creative contract with the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in 1906. At this time, Félix Fénéon was the director of the gallery and Signac asked him to be paid with works of art. He will later say :
« Pouvez-vous me faire régler mon solde 1908-1909. J’ai touché 10.000 + Bonnard Roussel Van Dongen 2 800 [...] Il est entendu que le Cézanne et le Luce sont pour l’exercice 1909-1910 [...] Je suis ravi de l’offre du Sickert. Dites-lui que j’accepte avec joie »
From: Lettre de Paul Signac à Félix Fénéon, s. d. [1909], archives Signac.
All of this will help him to be elected president of the Society of Independent Artists in 1908 and decorated with the Legion of Honor in 1911. But, the First World War brutally interrupted the dynamic of the collection and the life of Signac, and the Neo impressionist movement.
Just before the war, he left his wife Berthe and he needs to support two households and worries about the future of his daughter Ginette. After the war, the family left Antibes and moved to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, near Paris.
As his wife sold most of his first collection, he will then built up a second collection. He bought drawings by Degas, Cross and an exceptional set of around forty watercolours and drawings by Jongkind (admired by Monet). But, his most proud acquisition is a painting by Monet, titled Apple tree in blossom at the edge of the water. He will have it as a pay check due to the crisis of the Bernheim Gallery and the dealers Charles Vildrac and Léon Marseille.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Musée d'Orsay
Date: 12.10.2021 – 13.2.2022
Curators: Marina Ferretti Bocquillon and Charlotte Hellman
Ticket: Available on the website of the Musée d'Orsay OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Musée d'Orsay
Musée d'Orsay
Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
75007 Paris
Phone: +33 (0)1 40 49 48 14