The Bridge of Arts

The Bridge of Arts (1912) is one of several paintings Signac made of this celebrated Parisian footbridge linking the Institut de France to the Louvre. As the longtime president of the Société des Artistes Indépendants, Signac remained at the centre of Parisian artistic life even while spending much of his year in the south, and views of central Paris remained part of his subject repertoire. By 1912 his technique had evolved considerably towards the free mosaic style of his later years. Museum Folkwang, Essen.

The iron footbridge is rendered in warm mosaic patches of rust and ochre, contrasting with the deep blue Seine below and the lighter sky above. The bridge's grid of iron spans creates a geometric structure against which Signac's chromatic patches read as a vibrating patchwork. Reflections dissolve the bridge's lower elements into the river.