The Jetty 1930

Paul Signac made this small watercolour, The Jetty, with loose strokes and muted colours. I can picture him standing there, maybe a little seasick, trying to capture the scene quickly. The marks are so delicate, they remind me of sketches, capturing the essence of the scene rather than a detailed depiction. The grey scribbles in the sky suggest a breezy day. I can imagine Signac squinting, trying to mix the right shade of blue for the water. He was working with the Pointillists at the time, so this is a very different approach for him. He must have been looking at other watercolourists of the time. It’s a reminder that artists are always in conversation with each other, borrowing and reinventing ideas across time. Painting’s like that, it’s open, it’s not fixed. It keeps unfolding in new directions.