12/03/2023
Seurat, he whom is responsible for A Day in the Park here.
Dreaming of warmer days ☀️
Georges Seurat was born in 1859. His monumental painting ‘Bathers at Asnières’ was the artist’s first major composition, painted when he was just twenty four. It depicts several men and boys relaxing in the sun on the banks of the Seine. Their clothing (the bowler hat, boots, and sleeveless vest) suggests that some of them are laborers, perhaps from one of gas plants and factories visible in the distance. An interesting contrast is created by the bourgeois couple, complete with parasol and top hat, being ferried across the river in a boat.
Although Seurat was often drawn to similar subjects as the Impressionists, his treatment was radically different. Not only is this picture much larger than most Impressionist paintings but it was executed in the studio rather than outdoors in just one or two sessions. In contrast to the spontaneity of Impressionist works, Seurat’s picture was meticulously planned. He completed a series of preparatory oil sketches of the site and numerous life drawings of the figures. Of these, around 13 oil sketches and 10 drawings survive: https://bit.ly/3uzTVSZ
