Summer time is in full swing, so this month we spotlight the colourful and vibrant paintings by artist Yvonne Canu (1921-2008). Like Paul Signac before her, Canu immersed herself in the life of Saint Tropez when it was a bustling working port.
Yvonne Canu was born in Morocco to French parents in 1921. She studied at the École des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and after the Second World War met Tsuguharu Foujita and Élisée Maclet, who both encouraged her in her work. However, the greatest influence on her work were those of the Pointillistes, and in particular Georges Seurat's masterpiece L'île de la Grande Jatte.
Yvonne Canu's oil paintings follow this divisioniste technique of colour analysis employed by late 19th century artists, and like them often depicts seascapes, harbours and river scenes. She exhibited extensively after the Second World War until her death in 2008.
Voile blanche à Saint Tropez
Oil on canvas: 46 cm x 38 cm
Framed size: 61 cm x 53 cm
Saint Tropez
Watercolour: 25 cm x 34 cm
Framed size: 45 cm x 60 cm
Framed size: 68 cm x 78 cm
