Painter Paul Signac was born in Paris in 1863. A young man with a non-conformist spirit, Signac was adored by his mother, who respected his choices, and so he left high school in 1880 to devote himself to a life as an artist. He began painting in 1882 in Montmartre (Emile Bin's studio) and perfected his skills alone under the influence of the Impressionists, but his meeting with Seurat in 1884...

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  Biography of Paul Signac

  Painter Paul Signac was born in Paris in 1863. A young man with a non-conformist spirit, Signac was adored by his mother, who respected his choices, and so he left high school in 1880 to devote himself to a life as an artist. He began painting in 1882 in Montmartre (Emile Bin's studio) and perfected his skills alone under the influence of the Impressionists, but his meeting with Seurat in 1884 was decisive for his artistic direction. The Neo-Impressionist school had just been born, and he quickly became one of its leading exponents. Signac and Seurat gave birth to pointillism, with Seurat himself developing the technique of “ divisionism ”. Along with Seurat, he co-founded the Société des Artistes Indépendants, becoming its president in 1908. Signac worked with Pissarro and together, still with Seurat, formed the “ Scientific Impressionists ” group. He befriended Van Gogh shortly before he committed suicide. Signac saw himself as an impartial figure, above the schools, a friend to all, flexible and convivial; he had good personal relations with the Nabis, especially Bonnard, but did not share their aesthetic views.He had a passion for the sea and owned a small yacht with which he sailed along the various French coasts. Most of the major painters made a kind of pilgrimage to Signac's home in Saint-Tropez (villa La Hune), with personalities as diverse as Maurice Denis and Henri Matisse. Paul Signac was appointed official painter to the French Navy in 1915; this was a troubled period for him, as the First World War was very painful for him. He died in Paris in 1935, aged 71.

  
  

  

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