Paul Flaubert: Pointillism after Signac

Three boats with ochre and rust-red sails ride a harbour whose water is a carpet of blue, pink, yellow and violet dots; a white sail shimmers in the distance and a rower pulls away in the foreground. Every inch of it is built from small touches of pure colour. Paul Flaubert (1928–1994) painted this way for his whole career, and this marine is lot 7 of our Modern Masters: 20th Century Art sale.

The last of the dot

Flaubert belongs to the generation of French painters who carried neo-Impressionism into the second half of the twentieth century, long after Signac and Henri Martin were gone. He worked almost entirely in the pointillist manner and chose the subjects that suit it best: harbours and sailing boats, the Seine at Rouen and Paris, Mediterranean ports, markets, hunting scenes and lakeside walks, as well as Moroccan and Algerian views.

Dots for the light, a smooth touch for the subject

His technique is recognisable at once. Sky, water and foliage are a dotted, shimmering ground; 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, closer to the pleasure of Signac’s Saint-Tropez watercolours than to the theory of Seurat. He died in 1994.

Flaubert at auction

His work has appeared steadily in the French sale rooms since the early 2000s and is held in private collections across Europe and the United States, with the marines the best-loved part of the output. Small boards like ours, entirely pointillist and in fresh condition, are the typical and most affordable examples. More on his artist page.

At Aurora & Athena

Sailing Boats in the Harbour, Pointillist Marine, c. 1970s, oil on board, 18.5 × 24 cm, framed, signed at the lower left, is offered on 17 October 2026 with an estimate of 500 – 600 €. Photographs, condition summary and bidding on the lot page.