Marseille, The pink tower

Marseille's waterfront architecture, including the distinctive pink tower that anchors this composition, provided Signac with subjects that combined his maritime interests with the specific chromatic qualities of Provençal urban architecture. He returned to Marseille repeatedly across his career, and the Vieux-Port views — with their mix of historic buildings, fishing and commercial boats, and the open Mediterranean beyond — represent some of his most ambitious architectural-maritime compositions. The pink tower subject demonstrates his interest in the chromatic character of specific architectural materials: the warm rose and salmon tones of Provençal stone under full Mediterranean sunlight.

The pink tower is rendered in warm rose and salmon tones built from dots that mix the warm local color of the stone with the reflected light of sky and surrounding surfaces. Signac places the tower against a sky of cool blue and violet complementary to the warm architectural color, maximizing the chromatic intensity of both elements.