Paul Signac | Port-en-Bessin, the Outer Harbour, 1884

Paul Signac | Port-en-Bessin, the Outer Harbour, 1884 | Christie's

In his luminous seascape painting of 1884, Paul Signac (1863-1935) recorded his impressions of the outer harbour of Port-en-Bessin.

The scene is suffused with the golden afternoon sunlight, which casts a benevolent warmth over natural and manmade elements alike.

The choppy, dappled surface of the deep blue water reflects a myriad of other colours: the pale rocks and velvety-green grass of the surrounding cliffs, the colourful houses nestled in the crevice of the valley, and the brilliant blue of the sky above.

Paul Signac | Port-en-Bessin, the Outer Harbour, 1884 | Source: © Christie's

Vicente Palmaroli | Summer Days, 1885

Sitting near the seashore, a lady puts her reading aside for a moment to turn and look out at the spectator.

Despite her location out on the beach, she wears a long purple skirt with splendid black lace decoration, a white pinafore, a comfortable shawl and a hat with blond lace and feathers.

In her hand she holds a small parasol.

She appears to have settled comfortably and sits at a distance from the other holiday-makers and next to a number of rush-bottomed chairs (for resting by the sea), other useful beach items, and a few articles of clothing.

Henri Matisse | Conversation under the Olive Trees, 1921

Beneath their tranquil surface, Henri Matisse's paintings often conceal a complex discourse expressing his conflicting aspirations through the relationship between subject and style.

Conversation under the Olive Trees is particularly revealing in this respect. Two elegant ladies standing on the lawn seem to be chatting.

Behind them is a path; on the far side and slightly lower, we see a grove of olive-trees, while further away appears the silhouette of a hill, and beyond it another.

Henri Matisse | Conversation under the Olive Trees, 1921 | The Carmen Thyssen Museum (Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga)