Paintings of Paul Signac 6: Consumption and demolition

Just before the end of 1895, Siegfried Bing opened his gallery l’Art Nouveau in Paris. Its first exhibition included paintings by Cross, Van Rysselberghe and Paul Signac (1863-1935). In the New Year, Signac made his annual visit to Brussels, after which he and Van Rysselberghe toured the Netherlands together. In the Spring, it was time once again for the Salon des Indépendants, followed by the summer spent at Saint-Tropez, with the Van Rysselberghes as guests. Signac started preliminary work for The Demolisher (1897-9, see later) by way of a lithograph, which was published in an anarchist review.

During the winter of 1896-97, Signac continued to develop his etching and lithography with the aid of Théo van Rysselberghe. His itinerary in 1897 omitted the winter visit to Belgium, replacing it with a couple of weeks sketching and painting Mont-Saint-Michel, the famous tidal island on the Normandy coast. Before the annual Salon…