The Lehman picture is one of four summer landscapes that Signac painted during his stay in Collioure, a small fishing village in France. As Signac was diligent in documenting information about his paintings, it is certain that this landscape is one of two that he painting during August and September of his four month stay. The four paintings were not painted as a series, thus they differ in size and are labeled with opus numbers, as in music, to establish a general chronology (though the sequence does not always reflect the exact order in which they were painted). Starting in 1886, Signac worked in a scientific neoimpressionist style. Like Seurat and Cross, Signac layered dots and dashes of paint to create optical coloring effects. Viewed closely, the eye registers the specks of pigment as detached; viewed from a distance, however, the human eye blends the colors to create larger, cohesive forms.This landscape includes the Château Royal de Collioure on the right, a church in the distant center, and the Fort Saint-Elme on a hill in the upper left. The blending of warm and cool tones in the picture creates an evenly lit and tranquil atmosphere.
