Beach at Saint-Briac

1888

Discovering anarchist ideas

In 1888 Signac discovers anarchist ideas by reading Élisée Reclus, Kropotkin and Jean Grave; with his friends Charles Angrand, Henri-Edmond Cross, Maximilien Luce and Camille Pissarro he contributes to Grave's paper, Les Temps Nouveaux (New Times). Politically he remains an anarchist, as were many of his friends, among them Félix Fénéon.

March 1889

A visit to Van Gogh in Arles

In March 1889 Signac visits Van Gogh at Arles; he had met him in Paris in 1886 and had travelled with him to Asnières in 1887.

1890

The XX banquet in Brussels: the duel that never was

At the banquet of the XX exhibition in Brussels in 1890, Toulouse-Lautrec challenges to a duel the artist Henri de Groux, who had criticized Van Gogh's work; Signac declares that he will carry on fighting for Van Gogh's honor if Lautrec is killed. De Groux apologizes and leaves, and the duel never takes place.

1891

A short trip to Italy

In 1891 Signac makes a short trip to Italy, seeing Genoa, Florence and Naples.

1892

Down the Garonne to the Mediterranean — to Saint-Tropez

In 1892 Signac sails down the Garonne to the Mediterranean and spends time in Saint-Tropez. The Mediterranean coast becomes a major theme of his painting: each summer he leaves the capital for the south of France, for Collioure or Saint-Tropez, envisioning it as the perfect location for a future anarchist utopia.