The Basin of Flushing

The Basin of Flushing (1896) was painted during Signac's sailing voyage along the Dutch and Flemish coasts, part of a programme of maritime travel that took him to Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and the Zeeland estuary of the Scheldt. Flushing (Vlissingen) was a major port and naval base at the Scheldt estuary, and its expansive harbour basin gave Signac a large, reflective water surface ideal for divisionist colour experiments. The Dutch light — diffuse, grey-tinged, unlike the Mediterranean glare — tested his chromatic method under new atmospheric conditions. Pola Museum of Art, Japan.

The grey northern light is interpreted through cooler divisionist dot-work, the palette shifting from the warm Provençal tones of his Saint-Tropez work. Blues, greys, and muted ochres predominate, with the water's broad surface providing maximum field for optical colour mixing.