Paul Signac

Jan Hachette, Paris
Denise Soliac, Paris (by descent from the above in 1958)
Private Collection (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 4, 2006, lot 115)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Executed on buff-coloured wove paper, not laid down, held between two panes of glass. There are artist's pinholes in the middle of the extreme left edge, in the bottom left corner and in the top right corner. There is a 17cm. supported tear running from the centre of the top edge, supported by a small sheet of paper on the verso, with associated retouching in pastel. There is a 4cm. repaired tear to the centre of the right edge and another 8cm. repaired tear to the centre of right edge, both with associated retouching. There is a 4.5cm. repaired tear to the centre of the extreme bottom edge and other small tears of less than 1cm. to all four edges. All four corners are supported. Apart from some slight time staining and some light creasing throughout, this work is in stable condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the catalogue illustration.
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.

Signac spent the spring of 1908 in Italy, visiting Florence, Siena and Rome before spending a month in Venice.  It was during this stay that the present studies for two major canvases were executed.  The recto is a study for Venise, Matin (Françoise Cachin, Signac, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 2000, no.468) and the verso for Venise, Saint-Georges (ibid., no. 469).

Signac's preparatory studies for large canvases were often made on a large scale so that their compositions could simply be squared off and transferred from watercolor to oil.  Accordingly, the dimensions of the present work closely resemble those of eleven major oils Signac painted in his 1908 Venice series.  In a small notebook in the James T. Dyke Collection, Arkansas, the artist dates the finished oil from which the recto of the present work is a study.  Venise. Matin was completed in June 1908, one month after the artist had returned from Italy (see: Paul Signac, A Collection of Watercolors and Drawings (exhibition catalogue), The Arkansas Art Center, 2000, no. 36).