Preparatory Study for the Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice
Artist
Paul Signac
(French, 1863 - 1935)
Dateca. 1905
MediumPastel | Tempera | Pencil | Brown paper | Canvas
DimensionsOverall: 51 x 62 in. (129.5 x 157.5 cm)
ClassificationsModern art
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the accessions fund and Arthur and Renée Diamonstein
Object number91.13
Terms
- Lagoon
- Boats
- Blue
- Green
- Yellow
- Orange
- White
- Sketch
- Expressive
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.
Pair/Pair