Colour takes on an almost independent role in Neo-Impressionism. Rather than being fully mixed on the palette, tones are built up from small, separate touches that only come together in the viewer’s eye. Signac. Symphony of Colours traces how Paul Signac and his contemporaries developed this new visual language, and how it soon found an audience well beyond France.

That same thread runs through three works from The Phoebus Foundation collection. In The Scheldt Upstream and The Tennis Party, Théo van Rysselberghe shows how light, space and movement can emerge from a finely woven field of colour. Henry van de Velde’s Woman Going to Church uses a related technique in a far quieter way, creating a softer, almost hushed atmosphere. Together, the three paintings show just how varied Belgian Neo-Impressionism could be.

Signac. Symphony of Colours runs from 24 October 2026 to 28 February 2027 at Kunsthal Rotterdam. More information and tickets via kunsthal.nl.