Paul SIGNAC (1863–1935) - Lot 11

Lot n° 11
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Estimation :
10000 - 15000 EUR
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Result : 27 300EUR
Paul SIGNAC (1863–1935) - Lot 11
Paul SIGNAC (1863–1935) The Port of Saint-Malo, 1929 Watercolor and charcoal on paper. Signed, located, and dated "St Malo Oct 29" in the lower right corner and annotated "St Clément .. St Mathurin...Port". Signature stamp twice (partially erased and upside down) in the lower left and lower right corners. 29.5 x 43.5 cm (viewable area) Provenance: -Jacques Rodrigues-Henriques Collection. -By descent, within the family. Between 1923 and 1930, Paul Signac regularly spent his summers in Brittany. He visited Saint-Malo in 1925. In early 1928, he was still in Saint-Malo painting watercolors. On February 18, 1928, he wrote to his collector and patron, Gaston Lévy, that he was working like a madman: “The boats are beautiful; when they have their sails and their tall bulwarks, it will be magnificent.” On March 6, he attended the first day of the departure of the Newfoundland fishermen. The artist then completed two paintings titled A Floating Dock in Saint-Malo and The Return of the Newfoundland Fishermen. Staying in Vivier-sur-Mer in a house rented for the summer, he continued with *The Departure* and *The Return of the Newfoundlanders*. An ambitious project soon took shape in his mind, one that would, in his view, crown his career as a watercolorist. In December 1928, he informed Gaston Levy that he wanted to create a major series of 200 watercolors on the theme of French ports, following in the footsteps of the 18th-century marine painter Vernet. “I would paint two watercolors in each port, one for you and one for me—different, of course—and you would choose which of the two you preferred.” Gaston Levy, a businessman and collector (founder of the Monoprix chain), agreed. Unfortunately, the work was soon divided between the two patrons, the Levy cousins, and then dispersed over time before a complete exhibition could be held (see the Signac exhibition, “The Ports of France,” Le Havre and Roubaix La Piscine, 2010–2011).
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