The Wreckers (Les Démolisseurs)

Paul Signac

1896 · Lithograph; second state of four · Drawings and Prints

This lithograph, executed in the tonal style of Signac’s early drawings and reminiscent of his friend Georges Seurat’s graphic approach, represents the most explicit political statement made by the artist in his oeuvre. Published by Jean Grave, editor of the anarchist journal Les Temps nouveaux, the symbolism of the print is overt: the worker demolishes the capitalist state with a pickax and the rising sun announces the dawn of a new order. The medium of lithography suited the message though Signac later made a painting based on the print (Musée d’Orsay).

Artist

Paul Signac

Date

1896

Medium

Lithograph; second state of four

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation Gift, A. Hyatt Mayor Purchase Fund, Marjorie Phelps Starr Bequest, Mary Oenslager Fund, 2017