Paul Signac. Akvarely a kresby | Databáze uměleckých výstav v českých zemích 1820

Commentary

In the fall of 1924, the Mánes Fine Arts Association organized an exhibition of approximately sixty drawings and watercolors by Paul Signac (1863–1935), one of the founders of French modern art associated with Neo-Impressionism. It was the first and, to date, only monographic exhibition dedicated to Signac in the Czech lands, though his work was not entirely unknown there. Signac had previously been featured in the 1907 show entitled French Impressionists, exhibiting two watercolors and two paintings. In 1913, the journal Volné směry published a translation of an excerpt from Signac's theoretical treatise on Neo-Impressionism, accompanied by examples of his works and those of his fellow Neo-Impressionist, Georges Seurat. The 1924 exhibition of Signac’s works on paper was immediately preceded by the Exhibition of French Art of the 19th and 20th Centuries, organized by the Mánes Association at the Municipal House in spring 1923. This became a pivotal moment in the cultural history of the young Czechoslovak state, as many of the works exhibited there were acquired that same year for the collections of the Modern Gallery, predecessor to today's National Gallery in Prague. Signac exhibited three paintings and two watercolors at this exhibition, though these did not become part of the Modern Gallery's acquisitions. Signac's 1924 exhibition of drawings and watercolors was held in the Mánes Hall, constructed in the Rondo-Cubist style according to plans by architect Josef Gočár in 1921 and located in Vodičkova Street in the courtyard of building No. 38. The entire collection came from the Viennese gallerist Otto Nierenstein (1894–1978), who had established the Neue Galerie in Vienna in 1923, promoting Austrian modern artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Richard Gerstl, and Alfred Kubin, as well as other European artists including Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch. Nierenstein organized his exhibitions as traveling shows, presenting them not only in his own gallery but also offering them to other institutions. Paul Signac's exhibition travelled to several cities in 1924: Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, and Munich. Prague became a stop on the route between Dresden and Munich, as evidenced by correspondence between Otto Nierenstein and the Mánes Association, now preserved in Prague City Archives.

The contact between the Viennese gallerist and the Czech art association likely occurred through sculptor Jan Štursa, a member of Mánes and professor and rector at the Academy of Fine Arts, whom Nierenstein mentions in one of his letters. After several changes to the scheduled dates, the exhibition was set to run from October 15 to 29, and the association agreed to pay the transport costs. Otto Nierenstein subsequently offered the Mánes Association an exhibition by Oskar Laske, but they showed no interest and requested that he present other artists in Bohemia instead. Further collaboration did not materialize. During the rise of antisemitism in the 1930s, Nierenstein, who was of Jewish origin, changed his name to Otto Kallir and established a successful gallery in the United States, where he relocated in 1939.

The exhibition presented Signac's landscapes, primarily watercolors depicting coastal scenes with boats, which he painted directly from deck during voyages at sea and along waterways. The exhibition catalogue, containing 59 entries, included the titles of Signac's works along with prices in francs, though unfortunately it did not specify the technique or date of origin. For the Viennese reprise of Signac's exhibition at the Neue Galerie, Otto Nierenstein published a catalogue featuring a text about Signac by Claude Roger-Marx in French and German, accompanied by black-and-white reproductions of watercolors. The catalogue also included a list of works organized by technique and, in some cases, dated. Comparison with the Viennese catalogue reveals that the majority of Paul Signac's works also exhibited in Prague were executed in watercolor technique. Some of these works dated from 1923-1924, suggesting that Nierenstein may have acquired this collection directly from the painter or through a close intermediary.

This fourteen-day exhibition was welcomed by contemporary press as an important undertaking presenting the work of a leading French modern artist: "The exhibition of Paul Signac's watercolors in the Mánes Hall is one of the most precious and significant artistic collections that have been exhibited in Prague" (Národní listy, October 22, 1924). Only a few extensive reviews acknowledged the significance of this painter for modern painting and highlighted the visual impact of Signac's watercolors, which the artist conceived as artworks in their own right (Harlas 1924, Marek 1924a, Marek 1924b). Although according to Josef R. Marek the exhibition was poorly attended and the rooms literally "gaped with emptiness" (Marek 1924a), it did not escape the attention of collectors or the Modern Gallery's acquisition committee.

The Modern Gallery, which at that time owned none of Signac's works, saw an opportunity to enrich its developing collection of French modern art with works by another significant painter and acquired five watercolors. The four landscapes and one still life purchased by the Modern Gallery from the exhibition are now part of the Collection of Drawings and Prints at the National Gallery in Prague. The watercolour depicting boats in a harbor, titled Lomalo (inv. no. K 18261), was listed in the 1924 catalogue as no. 4; the scene from the Atlantic coast, Croix de Vie (inv. no. K 18262), as catalogue no. 19; the depiction of the city of Rouen (inv. no. K 18263) as catalogue no. 20; the motif from the Seine River, Petit Andely (inv. no. K 18264), as catalogue no. 25; and the final work, Still Life with Pitcher (inv. no. K 18265) as catalogue no. 47.

Two additional watercolors likely originating from the 1924 Signac exhibition are now housed in the Museum of Czech Literature and were originally part of the collection of Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic. One of these scenes, titled Dredger on the Seine (inv. no. IK 5837), corresponds to one of the Paris depictions in the 1924 catalogue. The other scene, titled Motif from the Bosphorus (inv. no. IO 728), was listed as catalogue no. 9 under the title Stamboul. Nine of Signac's works on paper were sold in Prague, entering both the Modern Gallery and private collections. The two additional purchased watercolours, whose current location is unknown, were titled Croix and Lomalo.

The exhibition of Paul Signac's watercolours and drawings demonstrated the Mánes Association’s continuing interest in French modern art. The presentation of works by French artists such as Paul Signac, who were considered "founding fathers" of modern art in the 1920s, no longer served as a catalyst for accelerating the development of Czech art, but rather as an enduring model of artistic values and cultural direction for the newly established democratic state.

Petra Kolářová

Works Cited

Harlas 1924: F. X. Harlas, Umění – Výstavy, Národní politika, 22. 10. 1924, vol. 42, no. 292, p. 4

Marek 1924a: J. R. Marek, Výtvarné umění: Paul Signac (Síň „Mánesa“), Národní listy, LXIV, 1924, no. 296, 26. 10., p. 4

Marek 1924b: J. R. M., Ještě Paul Signac, Národní listy, LXIV, 1924, no. 298, 28. 10. p. 5

Národní listy 1924: Anonymous author, Národní listy LXIV, 1924, no. 292, 22. 10., p. 5

Paul Signac (exh. cat.), VII. Ausstellung, Neue Galerie Otto Nierenstein, Wien 1924

Archival Sources

Prague City Archives, fonds Mánes Association of Fine Arts, Výstavní činnost [Exhibition Activity], Paul Signac-October 1924, inv. no. 4075, box 56

Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902-1942), Zápisy ze schůzí kuratoria českého odboru MG [Minutes from the board meetings of the Czech section of the Modern Gallery], acc. no. 1321, box 1

Archive of the National Gallery in Prague, fonds Moderní galerie (1902-1942), Spisy k nákupům od jednotlivců, český odbor MG - P. Signac [Files on purchases from individuals, Czech section of the Modern Gallery – P. Signac], acc. no. 1327, box 22

Exhibiting authors

Signac, Paul

Catalogue

LXXXII. výstava Spolku Výtvarných Umělců Mánes: Francouzský malíř Paul Signac. Akvarely a kresby [LXXXII. Exhibition of the Association of Artists Mánes: French painter Paul Signac. Watercolours and drawings]

Place and year of publication: Praha 1924

Reviews in the press

František Xaver Harlas

F. X. Harlas, Umění – Výstavy, Národní politika XLII, 1924, no. 292, 22. 10., p. 4

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Josef Richard Marek

J. R. Marek, Výtvarné umění: Paul Signac (Síň „Mánesa“), Národní listy LXIV, 1924, no. 296, 26. 10., p. 4

pdf

Josef Richard Marek

J. R. M. [Marek], Ještě Paul Signac, Národní listy LXIV, 1924, no. 298, 28. 10. p. 5

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Brief notes about the exhibition