5, 6, 7, Print! When Pointillism Met Printmaking - Paul Signac's Lithographs

I recently made a mini-class on Skillshare about Neo-Impressionism (aka Pointillism), and in doing so I came across much dot-fuelled art! However, I think the most well-known neo-impressionist artworks tend to be paintings (do you agree?)... but neo-impressionists experimented with many techniques and printmaking was one of them!

One of the most dedicated neo-impressionists was Paul Signac, and he created multiple dotty prints by playing with Lithography. Read on to find out what that process even is, and to check out a few of Signac's prints. Inspiration awaits!

What Is a Lithograph?

Lithography is a printmaking technique invented in the late 18th century, and the name offers a clue: litho = stone, graph = writing. The process is built on one wonderful fact: oil and water don't mix.

The artist will draw directly onto a flat stone (or later, a metal plate) using a greasy medium, such as a special crayon or oily ink called tusche. The stone is then treated with a chemical solution that fixes the greasy drawing and makes the rest of the surface repel ink. When you roll ink across it, it sticks only where the drawing is. Paper is pressed onto the stone, and - ta-daaaa! - the print is revealed.

Unlike other printmaking techniques, like etching or woodcut, it’s all flat (planographic). There's no cutting, no carving or incisions. The image sits on the surface, which gives lithographs an incredible softness and tonal range. Artists can draw, shade and layer in ways that feel almost like painting.

Now, when we talk about painting, we often assume a more colourful result than simply monochrome - and colour lithographs are an even deeper dive! Each colour requires its own separate stone. So, if we want to use five colours, we're going to need five stones and five passes through the press. We've also got to keep each print perfectly aligned with the one before, which makes it an intensive undertaking. But slow processes can bring about the most satisfying results!

The 1890s Print Renaissance

The 1890s were a brilliant moment for printmaking in France. There was a genuine buzz around the idea of the original print. Rather than a reproduction of a painting, these were works of art conceived specifically for the medium. The influential quarterly publication L'Estampe originale (1893–1895) brought together some of the most exciting names of the era - Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Renoir, Pissarro - all contributing original colour prints in an edition of just 100.

Paul Signac was among them, and if you’ve popped into my Whistlestop stARTs Tour of Neo-Impressionism, you’ll have gotten a sense of how influential he was.  He was and experimenter and innovator, and as a dedicated Neo-Impressionist, he was going to bring colour theory to the stone.

Paul Signac: Behind the Dots

Paul Signac (1863–1935) was one of the great champions of Neo-Impressionism - the movement that grew out of Impressionism and became obsessed with colour science. Together with Georges Seurat, he developed Pointillism: the practice of placing small, distinct points of pure colour side by side, letting the viewer's eye optically mix them rather than blending them on the canvas.

He was also a passionate sailor, spending much of his life exploring the ports and coastlines of France. That love of water - how it shimmers in the harbour - and the mood of the coastline, runs through much of what he made.

Although Signac produced relatively few prints, his colour lithographs are considered some of the finest achievements of the Neo-Impressionist movement. He translated his love of colour science into a printmaking medium that rewarded exactness and deliberate layering. Each colour on each stone was placed with intention.

If you’ve got time, let’s explore a few of them together…

5-Colour Lithographs (1895)

Flushing (Vlissingen) is a port town on the coast of the Netherlands which Signac visited. This lithograph captures the harbour with cool blues and horizontal calm.

This is a companion piece to the above. Where At Flushing gives us the wider view, Boats at Flushing brings us closer to the vessels themselves.  Hulls and masts are captured in the distinctive light that's so different from the warmth Signac found in Saint-Tropez. Both of these Flushing lithographs offer a mood of stillness and reflection.

There’s a particular quality of fading light, when colour gets warmer and the world gets quieter, that Signac captured here. Only five colours are needed to create an entire sunset.

6-Colour Lithographs (1894–1898)

One of the earliest and most striking of Signac’s prints. The buoy becomes a vibrant focal point anchored in shimmering water. Such an ordinary, everyday subject, elevated by colour and light. The red amongst the blues creates a bold contrast which vibrates in the foreground.

This is the print that appeared in L'Estampe originale and it has a different feel. Rather than careful dots, there are swirls, curves and dashes, which offers a sense of movement (especially in the tree).  Saint-Tropez was Signac's heartland; he bought a house there called La Hune and spent decades painting its port. Here, he’s translating it into six careful layers of lithographic colour.

Same harbour, different light. By the late 1890s, Signac had fully settled into Saint-Tropez life - with his studio set up and the town firmly his artistic home. This print has a richer warmth than the 1894 version: the colours feel more confident and the composition more settled. It feels calm, welcoming and like a celebration of his home.

7-Colour Lithograph (1895)

Seven colours is a definite dedication to the craft! Les Andelys is a small Norman town on the Seine, and the extra colour used gives the print a depth and tonal richness that feels almost painterly. But it retains it’s print-ness - unmistakably deliberate and contained.

Why Does It Matter?

So why bother with lithography when you can just paint?

Lithography doesn’t offer a shortcut or a compromise, but rather a different way of thinking. Signac had to translate his instincts for colour and light into a sequential, layered, highly deliberate process. No happy accidents could be made use of - he had to commit to each stone.

That constraint is what makes these prints so interesting. They show a different side of Signac's art-exploration. While he could explore spontaneity in a watercolour sketch or stamina with the sustained effort of a large canvas, lithography asked him to be a planner at an even greater level.  He understood colour so well, but with his lithographs he put it to use even more intentionally than in his paintings - layer by layer, stone by stone.

These prints are also a great reminder that curiosity is always an artist's most important tool. Signac didn't have to make lithographs. He chose to explore the medium because exploration was simply how he worked. That instinct - to try, to experiment, to follow questions and invent answers - is what keeps art evolving.

Curious about Neo-Impressionism and the movement that shaped Signac's thinking? My mini-class is a great place to start. Follow this link to get a one-month free trial of Skillshare and to watch the class today!

Thanks for reading,

Keep making happy,

Gem 💛