French artist Yvonne Canu was transfixed by Pointillism, a technique that was pioneered in the 19th century by Georges Seurat, and devoted her career to mastering it. Over half a century after Seurat’s death, Canu gravitated towards French Postimpressionism and was pivotal in carrying Pointillism into the modern era.
Born in Morocco, Canu studied in Paris at the École des Arts Decoratifs until the start of WWII. Following the war, she met French painter Élisée Maclet and French-Japanese artist Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita who were influential in her exploration of Impressionist art. She also studied Cubism at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière alongside prolific French artist Ossip Zadkine.
Seeing Seurat’s masterpiece A Sunday on La Grande Jatte ultimately set Canu on a path to understand the complexities of his practice. She investigated Seurat’s use of complementary color and studied the work of French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul, who in the 19th century worked as the director of the famous Parisian tapestry factory, Gobelins Manufactory. In her work, she experimented with dabbing colors in such a way as to allow the viewer to perceive the greater tableau from afar.
Through this approach, Canu championed a colorful approach to water scenes including seascapes, harbors and rivers. Critics have drawn comparisons between Canu’s work and other 20th-century French artists who expanded on the innovative artistic ideas established in the 19th century.
Find original Yvonne Canu paintings and wall decorations on 1stDibs.
$24,674
'Barques a St. Florent Corse' . Boats at Saint Florent, Corsica. Pointillism
By Yvonne Canu
Located in St. Albans, GB
Yvonne Canu 1921 – 2008 Canvas Size: 18 x 21.5 (46 x 55cm) Outside Frame Size: 25.5 x 29" (65 x 74cm) Yvonne Canu is currently one of the most sought after contemporary pointillis...
Oil
"Les Arbres" French 20th century oil on canvas
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New York, NY
Signed lower right: Canu Provenance: Private Collection, US Yvonne Canu was influenced by the Pointillists school and very strongly so by Georges Seurat and by Sunday Afternoon on ...
Canvas, Oil
$51,782
La Conciergerie - Neo Impressionist Pointillist Riverscape Oil by Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed pointillist oil on canvas landscape by French Neo-Impressionist painter Yvonne Canu. The work depicts a view of revellers on a boat travelling along the River Seine in Paris, ...
Canvas, Oil
$25,819
Repos dans un champs de coquelicots - Pointillist Landscape Oil by Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed pointillist oil on panel figures in landscape by French neo-impressionist painter Yvonne Canu. This stunning piece depicts a couple resting under a parasol in a field of wildf...
Oil, Board
'La Fontaine de Neptune a Paris' - The Fountain of Neptune in Paris Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in St. Albans, GB
Yvonne Canu 1921 – 2008 Signed bottom right and signed, titled and numbered 967 on the reverse Canvas Size: 22 x 18" (55 x 46cm) Outside Frame Size: 28 x 24" (70 x 60cm) Yvonne Ca...
Oil
Preparations for the Regattas by Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Preparations for the Regattas (Préparations aux Régates) Signed "Canu" (lower right) Titled "Préparations aux Régates" (en verso) Oil on canvas A lum...
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
Le Marche a Grimaud
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New York, NY
Yvonne Canu (born 1930) is a French artist renowned for her abstract and geometric painting, often focusing on the interaction between color, form, and light. She emerged in the mid-...
Oil
"Fleurs sur la Plage"
By Charles Levier
Located in Southampton, NY
Oil on canvas painting by the well known American artist, Charles Levier. Signed lower left. Titled and signed verso. Circa 1970. This painting shows Levier at his best combining t...
Canvas, Oil
$2,536
H 9 in W 10.25 in D 1 in
Pair of early 20th Century British Impressionist paintings of the beach
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Attributed to Rowland Wheelwright, 20th Century 'Bather's on the shore' and 'Sunbathing by the Cliffs' Oil on canvas board 9 X 10. 1/4in. (22.8 X 2...
Canvas, Oil, Board
Venise - Huile sur toile, 50x100 cm., encadré
By Serge Mendjisky
Located in Nice, FR
Très belle vue de Venise. Huile sur toile par Serge Mendjisky daté 1980. Dimensions avec le cadre: 72x122 cm. Serge Mendjisky est ne en 1929 et mort e...
Oil
$4,500
H 36.5 in W 31 in D 3.5 in
"Village Provençal " Pointillistic Colorful Landscape Oil Painting on Canvas
By Lucia Fortuny
Located in New York, NY
A large Mid-20th Century oil painting depicting a beautiful landscape on a sunny day of the Village Provençal in France. This piece has a strong presence with bold brushwork and heav...
Canvas, Oil
$1,400
H 14.97 in W 19.3 in D 1.19 in
Scintillating Light: View from the Hills to the City, a winding path, Madrid
Located in Norwich, GB
A perfectly Impressionistic work with beautifully loose, almost pointillist brushstrokes, focussing on the scintillating light and the remote hilltop atmosphere. Artist Frans Hog...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$14,400Sale Price|20% Off
H 25 in W 28.5 in
"Bassin des Tuilleries and the Louvre, Paris, " Jules Herve, French Impressionism
By Jules René Hervé
Located in New York, NY
Jules Herve (French, 1887 - 1981) Bassin des Tuilleries and the Louvre, Paris, n.d. Oil on canvas 18 1/2 x 21 3/4 inches Signed lower left; signed on the reverse Provenance: Dominio...
Canvas, Oil
$2,000
H 20 in W 23 in D 3 in
"Around Place de l'Opéra" Post-Impressionist Parisian Street Scene Oil Painting
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful impressionist oil painting on canvas by Gene Jordan depicting a tremendously vivid and alive street scene from Paris in the 20th Century with a view around the Place de l...
Oil, Board, Canvas
$2,193Sale Price|20% Off
H 32 in W 43.5 in
Very Large French Impressionist Signed Oil Painting Luncheon of the Boat Party
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Luncheon of the Boat Party' After Pierre - Auguste Renoir's earlier painting signed oil on canvas, framed framed: 32 x 43.5 inches canvas: 24 x 36 i...
Oil, Canvas
$5,500
H 99 in W 98.5 in D 0.25 in
A Figurative Pointillist Painting after Georges Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon…”
Located in San Francisco, CA
On offer is a monumental pointillism painting, a reinterpretation of “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” created a century earlier by French painter George Seurat,...
Canvas, Oil
$575Sale Price|20% Off
H 7.49 in W 13 in
Beach's day Spain oil on board painting spanish seascape
By Gabriel Casarrubios
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Gabriel Casarrubios Martín (1953) - Beach's day - Oil on panel Oil size 19x33 cm. Frameless. Gabriel Casarrubios Martín (1953) The Toledo artist trained in Fine Arts in Madrid, at ...
Oil, Board
$1,340Sale Price|20% Off
H 13 in W 15 in D 2 in
Nicely Framed Detailed American School Antique Beach Scene Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Very finely painted early 1900s American impressionist beach scene. Oil on board. Framed. Signed verso. Great colors and very well painted. Excellent ready to hang condition.
Canvas, Oil
$1,516Sale Price|20% Off
H 20 in W 18 in D 2 in
Antique American School Pointillist Fall Landscape Lake View Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school pointillist landscape painting. Oil on board, circa 1920. Unsigned. Displayed in a period impressionist frame. Image size, 14"L x 16"H.
Canvas, Oil
Saint-Tropez by Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Saint-Tropez Signed "Canu" (lower right) Titled "Saint-Tropez" (en verso) Oil on canvas An idyllic seaside cityscape of Yvonne Canu's beloved Saint-T...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 32.5 in W 37.5 in D 1.33 in
Bélon, le port à marée basse by Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Bélon, le port à marée basse (Bélon, The Port at Low Tide) Signed "Canu" (lower right) Oil on canvas This original oil on canvas by Yvonne Canu capt...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 25.5 in W 29 in D 3 in
'Marché de Provence - A Market in Provence' Signed oil painting on canvas
By Yvonne Canu
Located in St. Albans, GB
Yvonne Canu 1921 – 2008 Signed bottom right and signed, titled and numbered 300 on the reverse Canvas Size: 21 x 25" (54 x 65cm) Outside Frame Size: 29 x 33" (74 x 85cm) Yvonne Ca...
Oil
Marseille By Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Marseille Signed "CANU" on lower left Oil on canvas The picturesque French Riviera is presented in French Post-Impressionist Yvonne Canu's signature ...
Oil, Canvas
Saint-Tropez, Le Port By Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Saint-Tropez, le port Signed "CANU" (lower right) Oil on canvas The peaceful port of Saint-Tropez is captured in serene detail in this extraordinary...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 20.13 in W 25.25 in D 1.38 in
Fishing Boats In St. Tropez By Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Fishing Boats in St. Tropez Signed "CANU" on lower right boat Oil on canvas The picturesque French Riviera is presented in French Post-Impressionist ...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 29 in W 37 in
Saint Tropez au soleil couchant - Pointillist Landscape Oil by Yvonne Canu
By Yvonne Canu
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and titled pointillist oil on cavas landscape by French painter Yvonne Canu. This stunning piece depicts boats moored at a harbour in Saint Tropez as the sun sets. There is a ...
Canvas, Oil
St. Tropez
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French St. Tropez Signed "Canu" (lower right) Signed and titled "St. Tropez / y. Canu" (en verso) Oil on canvas The picturesque French Riviera is presented ...
Canvas, Oil
Douarnenez
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
Yvonne Canu 1921-2008 French Douarnenez Signed "Canu" (lower right) Signed and titled "Douarnenez / y. Canu" (en verso) Oil on canvas A picturesque harbor in the French town of Douarnenez is the subject of this extraordinary oil on canvas by the French Post-Impressionist Yvonne Canu. The 20th-century painter's pointillist creations are distinctly modern, rendered with painstakingly precise dots of pure color that brilliantly blend together to form a cohesive work of art. This oil exemplifies her distinctive style, which displays the influence of the Post-Impressionist icon Georges Seurat in both its technique and choice of subject - though this work displays a more vibrant color palette, it is reminiscent of Seurat's Entrance to the Port of Honfleur. Canu's use of minuscule points of pigment and bright colors results in this stunning scene full of light and motion. Born in Morocco in 1921, Yvonne Canu traveled to Paris to study at the reputable École des Arts Decoratifs. Following the First World War, she entered the circle of the French-Japanese painter...
Canvas, Oil
14 juillet, Montmartre (July 14, Montmartre)
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
A crowd celebrates Bastille Day in the Montmartre arrondissement of Paris in this brilliantly lit and vibrantly colored oil on canvas by the French Post-Impressionist Yvonne Canu. The 20th-century painter's pointillist creations are distinctly modern, rendered with painstakingly precise dots of pure color that brilliantly blend together to form a cohesive work of art. This oil exemplifies her distinctive style, which displays the influence of the Post-Impressionist icon Georges Seurat in both its technique and choice of subject — a modern leisure scene. Canu's use of minuscule points of pigment and bright colors results in this stunning scene full of vitality and light. Born in Morocco in 1921, Yvonne Canu traveled to Paris to study at the reputable École des Arts Decoratifs. Following the First World War, she entered the circle of the French-Japanese painter...
Canvas, Oil
Le Port de Collioure
By Yvonne Canu
Located in New Orleans, LA
The port of the southern French town of Collioure is the subject of this vibrant oil on canvas by the French Post-Impressionist Yvonne Canu. The 20th-century painter's pointillist cr...
Canvas, Oil
Vue du Port, St Tropez
By Yvonne Canu
Located in Wiscasett, ME
Oil on canvas, signed lower right. Canvas measurement: 21" x 29" and with frame measures 30" x 39". Provenance: Purchased from Hilde Gerst Gallery in NYC in 1990, Private Collection...
Oil