ArtDependence | Paul Signac's Masterpiece of Venice, 'Saint-Georges. Couchant (Venise)', is unveiled in Paris

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Painted in 1905, just after Paul Signac’s first transformative visit to Venice, Saint-Georges. Couchant (Venise) captures the glowing façade of the iconic San Giorgio Maggiore at sunset, viewed from the Riva degli Schiavoni — a short stroll from the artist’s hotel.

A renowned sailor and navigator, Signac was drawn to coastal cities, and Venice’s interplay of water, sky, and architecture proved irresistible. Inspired by the light-filled visions of Guardi, Canaletto, Turner — and yet wholly his own — Signac’s Neo-Impressionist interpretation of La Serenissima pulses with vibrant colour, transforming the scene into a glistening, modern masterpiece.

The work hails from an exceptional series Signac painted of Venice between 1904 and 1908. Having always remained in France, it appears at auction after 70 years in the same private French collection. Its counterpart, Entrance to the Grand Canal — now held in the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, is often regarded as the most important work by the artist in an American public collection. Both paintings were first exhibited at Signac’s seminal 1907 exhibition at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris.

Now, more than a century later, this extraordinary work will be on view in the galleries of Sotheby’s Paris — located in the very building that later became home to the legendary Galerie Bernheim-Jeune. It will then go on view in New York at the beginning of May, before being offered with an estimate of $7 – $10M, as a star of Sotheby’s Modern Evening Sale in New York.

Saint-Georges. Couchant (Venise) comes to auction with impeccable provenance, having passed through the hands of three of the 20th century’s most remarkable patrons: Gustave Fayet, René Aubry, and Dr. Maurice Girardin — each guided by the renowned dealer Eugène Druet, who handled the work no fewer than three times. Fayet, a visionary supporter of Paul Gauguin and Odilon Redon, acquired the painting directly from Druet in 1905, alongside six other works by Signac. Letters between the artist and Fayet reveal a deep mutual admiration, with Signac personally requesting the painting’s loan for the pivotal 1907 exhibition. The Fondation Louis Vuitton will be devoting a retrospective to Fayet and his collection in 2026, as part of its ongoing series on the great collectors of the 20th century (Chtchoukine in 2016-1017 and Morozov in 2021-2022).

In 1916, the work found a new home with Dr. Maurice Girardin, a legendary collector of Impressionist and Modern art. Girardin later recounted his first encounter with the painting — a moment that sparked his lifelong passion for collecting:

“Mobilisé en 14-18, il m’arrivait dans mes permissions de visiter des galeries modernes. Un jour, entrant chez Druet, rue Royale, j’admirai un Signac de Venise ; timidement je me renseignai du prix : 500 francs. Je ne les avais pas. Non moins timidement, je demandais de le payer en deux fois. Madame Druet accepta, ce fut mon premier tableau.”

(“When I was drafted in 14-18, I sometimes visited modern galleries on leave. One day, entering Druet’s in the Rue Royale, I admired a Signac from Venice; shyly I asked about the price: 500 francs. I didn’t have it. No less timidly, I asked to pay in two installments. Madame Druet agreed, and it was my first painting.”)

The work has remained with the same family since Girardin’s collection was sold in 1953 and now emerges at auction as not only a rare example of Signac’s scenes of Venice, but the most valuable works depicting Venice by Signac ever to be offered at auction.