The Golden Horn. Morning

Signac visited Constantinople in 1907, part of a broader campaign of travel that took him beyond his habitual French and Mediterranean subjects. The Golden Horn — the inlet of the Bosphorus that forms Istanbul's natural harbor — provided a subject that combined exotic Ottoman architecture with the maritime and waterscape subjects he excelled at. The morning light specified in the title suggests he was as interested in atmospheric conditions as in topographic accuracy: the hazy golden light of a Bosphorus morning was a different optical problem from the crisp Mediterranean clarity he typically worked with.

The hazy morning atmosphere required Signac to work in a more restrained, closely valued palette than his characteristic Mediterranean brightness — the Golden Horn views are more silvery and diffuse than the Saint-Tropez or Venice canvases. The mosque silhouettes in the background are indicated through warm brown and grey-violet tones dissolving into the misty air.