The Town Beach, Collioure, Opus 165, 1887
Paul Signac (French, 1863–1935)
Oil on canvas
Artist Biography
Technical Glossary
Paul Signac (French, 1863–1935)
Oil on canvas
24 3/4 x 31 1/2 in. (62.9 x 80 cm)
Signed and dated (lower left): P. Signac 87; inscribed (lower right): Op. 165
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.208)
Between July and October 1887, Signac painted four views of the port of Collioure in southern France. The pale colors of these seascapes convey the intensity of the Mediterranean sun, whose light, as described by the artist, "discolors the shadows, attenuates the local colors, and washes out the pure sky." The austere, timeless quality of these works elicited the admiration of the critic Félix Fénéon in 1888, who praised Signac for "his virtues of observation and harmony."
