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Bright, sunny-looking waterscape of yellow buildings and a few boats, vertical view from the water against a blue sky.

Short stippled brush strokes define the shapes and scene, primally in colors of blues, yellows, and oranges. Plain three-story buildings and boats reflect into the water, where the yellow and blue colors intermingle. A cylindrical-shaped object bobs in the center bottom of the picture. A small sailboat floats in the center in front of the buildings while a taller ship, with sails down, enters in on left. Another boat with sails down rests on the right. Handwritten notes in the margin on left and at bottom.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2011.509
People
Paul Signac, French (Paris, France 1863 - 1935 Paris, France)
Printed by Auguste Clot, French (1858 - 1936)
Edited by Gustave Pellet, French (1859 - 1919)
Title
The Buoy (Port of St. Tropez)
Other Titles
Original Language Title: La Bouée (Port of St. Tropez)
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1894
Culture
French
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/337638

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Color lithograph on off-white wove paper, annotated by Signac
Technique
Lithograph
Dimensions
image: 40.1 x 32.6 cm (15 13/16 x 12 13/16 in.)
sheet: 54.7 x 38.6 cm (21 9/16 x 15 3/16 in.)
framed: 72.8 x 61.2 cm (28 11/16 x 24 1/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: signed in lower right corner of print, graphite: P. Signac
  • inscription: print margin, lower right corner, graphite: Bon a tirer / avec / 1 retouche au bleu fonce A / 1____ rouge B / 2 ____ rose C et C' / 4 [crossed out] 5____ jaune D et D' / J et J' et K
  • inscription: print margin, lower center, green colored-pencil: suffisant [?] verts
  • inscription: print margin, upper right, graphite: un bleu / foncé / A
  • inscription: print margin, center right, graphite: enlever le / rouge- / B
  • inscription: print margin, upper left, graphite: mettre du C / rose
  • inscription: print margin, center left, graphite: D / couleur [?] C [or 6 ?] j
  • inscription: print margin, lower left corner: [erased]
  • gallery label: verso of frame, printed in black ink: Peter H. Deitsch / 24 East 81st Street / New York, N.Y. 10021 / SIGNAC, / La Bouée [underlined] Color lithograph 1894. / Proof before the edition with / corrections and marginal notes / by the artist.
  • exhibition label: verso of frame, type-written in black ink: 297 Signac, Paul / THE BUOY / Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Deitsch
  • exhibition label: verso of frame, printed in black ink: CORNELL FINE ARTS MUSEUM / Rollins College, 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park, Florida 32789, 407 646-2526 / DEGAS TO DELAUNAY / MASTERWORKS FROM / THE ROBERT & MAURINE ROTHSCHILD FAMILY COLLECTION / March 12 through May 1, 1999
  • inscription: verso, lower left, graphite: 5210 Deitsch
  • inscription: print margin, upper center, graphite: v [underlined]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Sale, Versailles, France, September 1964], sold; [to Peter Deitsch, New York, NY (1964-1969), sold]; to Herbert M. Rothschild, gift; to Maurine P. Rothschild and Robert F. Rothschild, later Margaret and Robert F. Rothschild (1969-2011), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2011

Notes:
1. According to Peter Deitsch, he purchased the print at a small sale in Versailles, France in September 1964. A preliminary search of auction records for Versailles in 1964 did not produce any auction sales which may have included this print.
2. The print was purchased from Peter Deitsch by Herbert M. Rothschild in 1969 as a gift for Maurine P. and Robert F. Rothschild.
3. Maurine P. Rothschild passed away in 2004.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
trial proof
Standard Reference Number
Kornfeld and Wick 9

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Robert and Margaret Rothschild
Accession Year
2011
Object Number
2011.509
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
According to the catalogue raisonné, the edition numbers 60 prints, of which 20 feature a “remarque.” A “remarque” refers to a small image, emblem or symbol in the margin of a print. The catalogue raisonné specifies that the "remarque" for these 20 prints takes the shape of a green sailboat set in the lower left corner of the margin. This particular print is a trial proof without the "remarque" and with marginal annotations about ink types and colors.

Publication History

  • Five Centuries of Graphic Art, exh. cat., Finch College Museum of Art (New York, NY, 1966), cat. no. 297 p. 30 [as lent by Mr. & Mrs. Peter Deitsch]
  • Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Degas to Delaunay: Masterworks from the Robert & Maurine Rothschild Family Collection, exh. cat. (Winter Park, FL, 1999), cat. no. 39 p. 12, repr. p. 29 as pl. 39

Exhibition History

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu