Paul Signac is a French landscape painter who, with the painter Seurat, gave birth to Pointillism. He also developed the technique of Divisionism. Co-founder with Seurat of the Society of Independent Artists, of which he was President. He began painting in 1882 in Montmartre (Emile Bin's studio), and perfected his skills alone under the influence of the Impressionists. He became friends with Seurat in 1883-1884. A constant in his life was the need for escape. Signac worked with Seurat and Pissarro, with whom he formed the group of "scientific Impressionists". By comparison with Seurat, Signac constructed paintings more spontaneously, intuitively, and his color was more luminous. He was a friend of Van Gogh shortly before the latter's suicide.