Paul Signac

Paul Adam, Paris (a gift from the artist)
Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, December 10, 2002, lot 44
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale and sold: Christie's, New York, May 10, 2007, lot 256)
Acquired at the above sale

This painting is in beautiful condition. The canvas has probably never been removed from its original stretcher. The paint layer is slightly cracked in the sky, but is un-cracked and in extremely healthy condition elsewhere. In the sky, there are very delicate retouches addressing some of this cracking and some slight loss above the flag pole in the center right. It does not appear that there are any other retouches elsewhere in the picture, despite the fact that some original paint does read quite strongly under ultraviolet light. The painting should be hung as is. The above condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Glancing tenderly at the artist's suburban hometown northwest of Paris, La fête d'Asnières is a lush and colorful example from Paul Signac's early oeuvre. The present work takes up the loose compositional strategies of the great Impressionists, Signac's first influences, and subtly introduces the buoyant and exuberant color palette for which the artist is now revered. The light of the country fair, visible even in the violet shadows of the tents, hints at what would soon become the defining attribute of the artist's work. As Jean Cassou of the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, has written, "Light, in short, made [Signac] its favourite. Light gave him all that it had to give. It was his Muse, as well as his favourite object of study. It accorded so well with his magnanimous, open-hearted humanity that it provided him with a never-ending source of radiant images" (Jean Cassou, "Paul Signac," in Marlborough Fine Art, Ltd., eds., Paul Signac (exhibition catalogue), London, 1954).

The present work's compact format and dear inscription – to Paul Adam, the writer, critic, and advocate of the Neoimpressionists – elegantly capture the young Signac's luminous potential. La fête d'Asnières invites an expectant viewer to glimpse the fairground, and the artist's tremendous talent, in its clearest, quietest moments.

Fig. 1 Paul Signac, Route de Gennevilliers, 1883, oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris