The Wreckers

1895–1912

Gifts for five lotteries and support for the arts

Having prospered, Signac supports the arts generously: he sends regular cheques and between 1895 and 1912 gives works of his own for five lotteries.

1897

An apartment in Hector Guimard's Castel Béranger

In November 1897 the Signacs move into a new apartment in the Castel Béranger, built by Hector Guimard.

1897

Buying the house La Hune in Saint-Tropez

In December 1897 the Signacs acquire a house in Saint-Tropez named La Hune, where the painter has a vast studio built; he inaugurates it on August 16, 1898. In Saint-Tropez he invites his friends to stay.

1898–1899

“From Eugène Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism” appears

In 1898–1899 Signac's programmatic work “From Eugène Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism” appears, a set of rules for the artists of the new movement: any optical mixture, he argues, leads to clarity and brilliance, any material mixture to darkening and discoloration. Henri Matisse, after reading the essay, adopts the Divisionist technique in 1898.