Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange enlivens the waters of St. Tropez through her masterful use of color and light in this Pointillist composition entitled Voiliers au port de St. Tropez. The longtime partner of Paul Signac, Selmersheim-Desgrange adopted the radical style of her teacher-turned-companion early in her career, and she became a master of the highly modern approach in her own right. Rendered with a studied use of complementary colors, this oil represents the zenith of this scientific approach to painting, which is based on the theory of optical mixture by the division of tones. Colorful in palette and avant-garde in style, it represents one of the most innovative movements in the history of art

Born in 1877 into a family of artists and architects, Selmersheim-Desgrange began her artistic career in the realm of the decorative arts designing jewelry. She married the architect Pierre Selmersheim while in her 20s, who likewise came from an artistic family. In 1909, she decided to change her focus from the decorative arts to fine art, and began to train under the famed Neo-Impressionist Paul Signac. Shortly thereafter, they entered into a romantic relationship, and, after divorcing their spouses, they would spend the rest of their lives together. Signac had previously purchased a small home in St. Tropez, and it was there that he and Selmersheim-Desgrange made their home. The landscape of southern France provided endless inspiration for the artist, as seen in the present work.
Neo-Impressionism at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1968, and it can furthermore be found in the Portland Art Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Centre Pompidou (Paris), among others.