Paul Flaubert

Paul Flaubert, born in 1928, belongs to the generation of French painters who kept the neo-Impressionist flame alive into the second half of the twentieth century. He worked almost entirely in the pointillist manner, building his pictures from thousands of small touches of pure colour in the tradition of Signac and Henri Martin.

His subjects were the animated scenes he loved: harbours and sailing boats, the Seine at Rouen and Paris, Mediterranean ports, hunting scenes, markets and lakeside walks, as well as Moroccan and Algerian views.

Flaubert’s technique is recognisable at once: a dotted, shimmering ground for sky, water and foliage, against which figures, boats and buildings are painted with a smoother touch so that they stand forward from the light. The effect is decorative, joyful and full of air.

He died in 1994. His work has appeared steadily at auction in France since the early 2000s and is held in private collections across Europe and the United States.