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Port of Saint-Cast
Paul Signac (French, 1863–1935)
1890
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
66 x 82.5 cm (26 x 32 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of William A. Coolidge
Accession Number1991.584
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
“Port of Saint-Cast” is one of a series of four seascapes that Signac painted along the coast of Brittany in northwest France. The idea of working in series may have come from Claude Monet, who had already begun his iterative practice. In this spare yet carefully balanced composition, vibrant color and light enliven the stillness created by Signac’s painstaking method of paint application. The subtlety of his attention to color and touch evokes the granular texture of the sand and the shimmering surface of the water as it ripples toward shore.
InscriptionsInscribed: Signed and dated lower left: P.Signac 90; rear: Inscribed lower right: Op. 209
Provenance1890, sold by the artist to Frederic Victor Boch (b. 1817 - d. 1920), Brussels [see note 1]. By 1932, Galerie Léon Marseille, Paris [see note 2]. Anton Zwemmer (dealer; b. 1892 - d. 1979), London. By 1951, Albert Ehrman (b. 1890 - d. 1969), London [see note 4]. 1958, Marlborough Fine Arts, Ltd., London; June 16, 1958, sold by Marlborough to William A. Coolidge (b. 1901 - d. 1992), Topsfield and Cambridge, MA; 1991, gift of William A. Coolidge to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 25, 1991)
NOTES:
[1] The provenance given here is based on the information provided by Françoise Cachin, "Signac: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint" (Paris, 2000), cat. no. 205.
[2] Lent to "Neo-Impressionisme" (Galerie d'Art Braun et Cie, Paris, February 25 - March 17, 1932), cat. no. 25, as "Marine, 1890."
[3] Lent by Ehrmann to "La Peinture Sous le Signe de la Mer" (Galeries Royales, Ostende, August 5- September 4, 1951), as "Saint-Tropez."
NOTES:
[1] The provenance given here is based on the information provided by Françoise Cachin, "Signac: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint" (Paris, 2000), cat. no. 205.
[2] Lent to "Neo-Impressionisme" (Galerie d'Art Braun et Cie, Paris, February 25 - March 17, 1932), cat. no. 25, as "Marine, 1890."
[3] Lent by Ehrmann to "La Peinture Sous le Signe de la Mer" (Galeries Royales, Ostende, August 5- September 4, 1951), as "Saint-Tropez."