Artwork Page for Study for "Bathers at Asnières"

Details / Information for Study for "Bathers at Asnières"

Study for "Bathers at Asnières"

c. 1883–84

Georges Seurat

(French, 1859–1891)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
oil on wood panel
Measurements
Framed: 32 x 41 x 5 cm (12 5/8 x 16 1/8 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 15.7 x 24.9 cm (6 3/16 x 9 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1958.51
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Seurat’s approach to painting differed greatly from the Impressionist painters who worked outdoors in plein-air. In contrast, he worked in the studio preparing his compositions from drawings and preparatory studies.

Description

This oil sketch is one of many preparatory studies Seurat made for his monumental painting Bathers at Asnières (1883-84), depicting men leisurely bathing in the Seine near an industrial suburb of Paris. Seurat borrowed the brilliant colors of Impressionism to suggest outdoor light, but added structure by emphasizing basic geometric shapes and firm outlines. As a leader of the movement to reform Impressionism, his style became known as Neo-Impressionism.
A horizontally oriented oil painting with thick, visible brushstrokes looks across a river toward a distant shoreline. In the lower right, a man in a dark hat and blue jacket sits overlooking the blue water. To the left, a green grassy bank slopes downward. In the distance, a low bridge and industrial buildings with reddish roofs sit under a pale, hazy sky, their blurred forms blending into the textured landscape.

Study for "Bathers at Asnières"

c. 1883–84

Georges Seurat

(French, 1859–1891)
France, 19th century

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