Artwork
Les Andelys on a Summer Morning
Les Andelys on a Summer Morning is an ink drawing by Paul Signac. It dates from 1923 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1923, Les Andères on a Summer Morning is a drawing executed with brush, black ink and graphite on tan paper.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1923, Les Andères on a Summer Morning is a drawing executed with brush, black ink and graphite on tan paper. The French artist Paul Signac, a leading figure of Neo‑Impressionism, produced the work as part of his ongoing exploration of light and landscape.
Subject & Meaning
The composition portrays the riverside town of Les Andelys bathed in the soft illumination of early morning. By focusing on the tranquil atmosphere of a river town rather than his more typical seascapes, Signac emphasizes the subtle interplay of sky, water and architecture at dawn.
Technique & Style
Signac employs a precise, controlled brushwork that combines ink washes with graphite hatching, creating a layered surface that suggests both texture and atmospheric depth. Although the piece is not a pointillist painting, its disciplined application of marks reflects the same analytical approach to color and light that defined his pointillist practice.
History & Provenance
The drawing belongs to Signac’s late period, when he turned increasingly to drawing as a means of recording his travels along French rivers. It entered the museum’s collection through a donation from a private collector who acquired the work shortly after its creation, ensuring its preservation as part of Signac’s broader oeuvre of landscape studies.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Paul Victor Jules Signac ( seen-YAHK, French:; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, with Georges Seurat, helped develop the artistic technique Pointillism.
