Paul SIGNAC writes to Claude MONET about his Water Lilies.

Paul Signac (1863-1935)

Autographed letter signed to Claude Monet.

Two octavo pages on letterhead of the Society of Independent Artists.

14 rue de l'Abbaye [Paris] January 6, 1925.

"I would have loved to go to Giverny to wish you all the best."

A beautiful letter of greetings from Signac to the master of Impressionism – a testament to a long friendship between the two painters – evoking the future installation of Monet's Water Lilies at the Orangerie Museum.

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“ Dear Mr. Monet, I send you, with my respectful regards, my best wishes for the New Year . For us, it will be a wonderful year if we have the joy of seeing your grand decorations in place. I am very worried at the moment about the Independents, who are deprived of the Grand Palais this year. Otherwise, I would have been delighted to go to Giverny to offer you my greetings. Please accept, dear Mr. Monet, the expression of my respectful friendship, and extend my compliments and best wishes to those around you. Paul Signac. ”

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In 1883, Signac met Monet for the first time. Full of admiration, he wrote to him: “For two years I have been painting, having never used your works as a model, and following the great path you have opened for us. (…) I would be happy to be able to show you five or six of my studies, based on which you could judge me and give me some of the advice I so desperately need, because, in short, I doubt myself terribly, having always worked alone, without a teacher, without support, without criticism!” From this meeting followed a friendship of more than 40 years.

Presented to France by Claude Monet the day after the armistice of November 11, 1918, as a symbol of peace, the Water Lilies were installed according to his plans at the Orangerie Museum in 1927, a few months after his death.

Co-founder in 1884, then president of the Salon des Indépendants from 1908, Paul Signac embraced this role wholeheartedly, dedicating himself to it as a true calling. The Salon des Indépendants became a major center of modern French art. The creators of the Fauvist, Futurist, and even Abstract movements flourished there.