Le Pont Mirabeau. Sandbunken 1910

Paul Signac’s “Le Pont Mirabeau, Sandbunken” was made using watercolor and graphite on paper. These materials are traditionally associated with sketching and preparatory studies. The Pont Mirabeau is depicted here, not as a monument, but as a backdrop to a flurry of industrial activity. The quayside is stacked with a mound of sand, with cranes and barges nearby. Signac uses thin washes of color, built up layer by layer, and the transparent nature of watercolor allows the graphite under-drawing to show through, further emphasizing the industrial feel of the artwork. The loose handling of the materials suggests a scene witnessed quickly, en plein air, with the immediacy of the sketch prioritized over the polish of a finished painting. The image gives us a sense of the sheer labor required to build and maintain a modern city. In a sense, it brings the labor of construction into the realm of “fine art.” This interest in production reflects a wider preoccupation at the time, with the rise of socialism and a focus on the lives of working people. Signac asks us to consider not just the beauty of the finished bridge, but also the labor and materials that went into its construction.