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Lot Essay
During the summer of 1889, Signac spent several months in Herblay, which was then a small town near Paris, in the company of Maximilien Luce. Painted during his time there, Herblay. Temps gris. Saules is one of only six works granted 'Opus' status from this time; besides these six are only three related studies. This painting dates from the high-point of Signac's Neo-Impressionist involvement, when alongside his friend and fellow Pointillist Seurat he was blazing a new trail in the world of artistic expression, fusing revolutionary scientific discoveries relating to light with an evolved understanding of the Impressionists' contribution to painting. Seurat's death only two years after Herblay. Temps gris. Saules was painted would lead to Signac changing his style significantly, becoming increasingly gestural, making this work a rare and pure Pointillist painting from the height of their collaboration. The strength and importance of these Herblay pictures is reflected in the fact that half are in museum collections: one in the Musée d'Orsay, one in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and one in the Glasgow Art Gallery.
Signac's interest in creating a lyrical visual form while remaining as modern as possible is shown in Herblay. Temps gris. Saules in the combination of the poetic weeping willows, leading into a view of the town of Herblay itself. This interest in visual lyricism had left to Signac's 'Opus' system, by which Signac recorded his extremely finished paintings echoing composers' titles (in fact, Signac's own manuscript records of the Opus works, and the exhibition references of the present work, refer to its being O. 205, as seen in Cachin, leading critics to believe that the annotation on the canvas is either smudged or in error). Signac believed painting could form a visual counterpoint to music, an effect condensing composition and Pointillism. Signac's deliberate emphasis on musicality was evident in his contribution to the 1891 exhibition of the XX in Brussels, when Herblay. Temps gris. Saules was shown alongside three other Herblay paintings under the general title Le fleuve. There, showing different treatments of the same idea with a common theme resulted in a group of pictures that work together visually. The light effects and sparkling Pointillism merged with the dominant but often interrupted horizon to create the impression of an ensemble. In Herblay. Temps gris. Saules, this musicality is increased by the Pissarro-esque presence of the tree on the right, a treble clef leading into the image. Later, Signac would even give works explicit musical subtitles, for instance Scherzo and Adagio. The degree to which Signac was successful in presenting beauty through modern means is reflected in the extensive amount of critical analysis that Herblay. Temps gris. Saules received, at both its exhibition in Brussels in 1891, and in its exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants later that year.
Signac's interest in creating a lyrical visual form while remaining as modern as possible is shown in Herblay. Temps gris. Saules in the combination of the poetic weeping willows, leading into a view of the town of Herblay itself. This interest in visual lyricism had left to Signac's 'Opus' system, by which Signac recorded his extremely finished paintings echoing composers' titles (in fact, Signac's own manuscript records of the Opus works, and the exhibition references of the present work, refer to its being O. 205, as seen in Cachin, leading critics to believe that the annotation on the canvas is either smudged or in error). Signac believed painting could form a visual counterpoint to music, an effect condensing composition and Pointillism. Signac's deliberate emphasis on musicality was evident in his contribution to the 1891 exhibition of the XX in Brussels, when Herblay. Temps gris. Saules was shown alongside three other Herblay paintings under the general title Le fleuve. There, showing different treatments of the same idea with a common theme resulted in a group of pictures that work together visually. The light effects and sparkling Pointillism merged with the dominant but often interrupted horizon to create the impression of an ensemble. In Herblay. Temps gris. Saules, this musicality is increased by the Pissarro-esque presence of the tree on the right, a treble clef leading into the image. Later, Signac would even give works explicit musical subtitles, for instance Scherzo and Adagio. The degree to which Signac was successful in presenting beauty through modern means is reflected in the extensive amount of critical analysis that Herblay. Temps gris. Saules received, at both its exhibition in Brussels in 1891, and in its exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants later that year.