Marselha
1898
Paul Signac scribbled '8am sun' in the top corner of this lively sketch, capturing the morning light hitting the harbor of Marseille. Instead of his famous tiny dots of paint, here he uses loose, watery washes of blue and orange to map out the scene. The basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde looms large on the hill, watching over the forest of ship masts below. Signac treated watercolors like visual diary entries, rushing to record colors and compositions before the light changed, which he would later use to build his massive, meticulous pointillist masterpieces back in the studio.
- Technique
- Watercolor and pencil
- Material
- Paper