The “Ponton de la Félicité” at Asnières (Opus no. 143)
Currently on view
Paul Signac (1863 - 1935), Asnières, 1886
oil on canvas, 33.4 cm x 46.7 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (purchased with support from the VriendenLoterij, the Rembrandt Association, with the additional support from its Themafonds Impressionisme/ Claude Monet Fonds, Het Liesbeth van Dorp Fonds and Themafonds 19de-eeuwse Schilderkunst, the Mondriaan Fund, and the members of the Yellow House Circle)
Signac painted this view of the jetty of La Félicité, a well-known steamer used for pleasure trips on the Seine, dot by separate dot. He was a past master at this way of painting with unmixed, contrasting colours. Van Gogh admired his skill and tried to emulate it. Signac’s modern subjects also appealed to him. Van Gogh may well have seen this painting in 1887 at the Salon des Indépendants (a major exhibition held in Paris each year).
Asnières was situated on the river Seine just outside Paris. Well-to-do Parisians went there on day-trips but it was also an industrial development area. The river-side gas holder on the right of the picture is a reference to this.