Les Tours Vertes, La Rochelle 1913

Paul Signac made this painting of Les Tours Vertes in La Rochelle with oil on canvas, and what grabs me first is the way he’s built the whole scene out of these tiny, vibrant dots of color. It’s like he’s not just painting what he sees but also how he sees, breaking down light and form into its smallest components. Up close, you can really appreciate the texture, that sea of paint dabbed across the canvas. The way he’s used complementary colors – little flicks of red next to green, blue next to orange – it makes the whole thing hum. Take a look at the water, those shimmering reflections, each tiny stroke feels deliberate, yet the overall effect is fluid and alive. It's the same approach Monet and the Impressionists took, but somehow Signac pushed it further into something both calculated and ecstatic. Signac, like other Pointillists, reminds us that art is a constant conversation, building on the ideas of those who came before, always pushing towards new ways of seeing and feeling the world.