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Paul Signac

Canal Scene in Venice

Maker

Paul Signac (French, 1863-1935)

Title

Canal Scene in Venice

Year

ca. 1904

Medium

  • Graphite and watercolor on laid paper mounted on cardboard

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Graphite and watercolor on laid paper mounted on cardboard

Materials

null

Supports

  • laid paper

Dimensions

10.2 x 13.3 cm (4 x 5 1/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

21.479

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Publications

  • Books

Selection V: French Watercolors and Drawings, ca. 1800-1910

French watercolors and drawings from the Museum's collection, ca. 1800-1910

Exhibition History

From Dürer to Van Gogh
Gifts from Eliza Greene Radeke and Helen Metcalf Danforth
Jun 05, 2008 – Oct 26, 2008

Label copy

This watercolor study was purchased by Mrs. Eliza Radeke directly from the Armory Show in New York in 1913. The Armory exhibition was instrumental in spreading an appreciation for French art and Modernism to the United States. Paul Signac was a Pointillist. He followed the rules of contemporary color theory by separating colors into individual dots or strokes of pigment that blended when seen from a distance. Because Pointillist technique required slow execution in the studio, Signac created thousands of watercolor sketches outdoors to guide him when indoors. While visiting Venice in 1904, he made some two hundred sketches, including this one, which depicts a colorful canal scene with St. Mark’s Basilica in the distance. He wrote his observations about color and light to inform his studio work, including “gris perle” (“pearl grey,” a mottled bluish-gray) in the sky, and “reflet ochre” (“ochre reflection”) in the canal.

Image use

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Paul Signac (French, 1863-1935)
Canal Scene in Venice, ca. 1904
Graphite and watercolor on laid paper mounted on cardboard
10.2 x 13.3 cm (4 x 5 1/4 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 21.479

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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