Preparatory Study for the Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice
Artist
Paul Signac
(French, 1863 - 1935)
CultureFrench
Dateca. 1905
MediumPastel | Tempera | Pencil | Brown paper | Canvas
DimensionsOverall: 51 x 62 in. (129.5 x 157.5 cm)
InscribedInscribed throughout with color references and descriptive notations.
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the accessions fund and Arthur and Renée Diamonstein
Object number91.13
On View
Not on viewLabel TextPaul Signac French (1865-1935) Study for The Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice, ca. 1905 Pastel, tempera, and pencil on brown paper, laid on canvas Museum Purchase with Funds from the Accessions Fund and Arthur and Renée Diamonstein 91.13 This drawing by Paul Signac is the full-scale preliminary design, or cartoon, for his 1905 painting The Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice, also on view here. Signac inscribed the drawing with color references-a series of numbers ranging from 2 to 435-with which he established the palette of the painting. He marked the drawing with descriptive notations-eau (water), voile (sail), drapeau (flag), ciel (sky)-and drew a rectangular grid over the sketch to facilitate the transfer of his design to the canvas. Together these marks provide a fascinating glimpse into Signac's working method, recording his notes to himself and even his changes of mind. Both the pastel-and-tempera medium of the sketch and its vivid color scheme of blue, green, yellow, and orange are remarkable for a Signac cartoon. So, too, is the artist's handling, which is unusually free and expressive. The freedom of the sketch is all the more apparent when compared to the highly controlled "divisionist" technique Signac used in the finished canvas. ProvenanceCollection of the artist, Saint-Tropez and Paris; Collection of Henry van de Velde (gift of the artist), Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, until 1957; Dr. Fritz Nathan, Zurich, ca. 1957-1958; Collection of Dr. Karl Lilienfeld, New York, by 1959; Consigned to Achim Moeller, 1989; Chrysler Museum Purchase with funds from the accessions fund and Arthur and Renée Diamonstein. 1991. Exhibition History"French Masters of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century," Finch College Museum of Art, May 1 - June 9, 1962. (Exhib. cat. no. 39). "Grand Designs: Preliminary Drawings and Oil Sketches from The Chrysler Museum", Prints and Drawings Gallery, The Chrysler Museum, April 2 - June 22, 1994. "Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997. "Signac,1863-1935," Grand Palais, Feb. 27 - May 28, 2001; Van Gogh Museum, June 18 - September 9, 2001; Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1 - December 31, 2001.; Published ReferencesRobert L. Manning. _French Masters of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century_. New York: Finch College Museum of Art. 1962: no. 39. Achim Moeller. _Private Views_. New York: Achim Moeller Fine Art Limited. 1990. No. 5. Jefferson C. Harrison. _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. The Chrysler Museum. 1991: pp. 160-161, no. 123. Exhibition catalogue with essays by Anne Distel, John Leighton, Susan Alyson Stein, and Marina Ferretti-Bocquillon. _Signac_. 1863-1935. Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux. 2001: pp. 292-294, illustrated fig. 1. Marina Ferretti-Bocquillon, Anne Distel, John Leighton, and Susan Alyson Stein, with contributions by Kathryn Calley Galitz and Sjraar van Heugten. _Signac_. 1863-1935. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press. 2001:pp. 235-236, no. 113.
Pair/Pair