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.
Provenance
Estate of the artist, distributed to Théo van Rysselberghe1 (c. 1883/1884-1891); Théo van Rysselberghe [1862-1926], Saint-Clair, Var, France (1891-?); Felix Fénéon [1861-1944], Paris, sold to Anson Conger Goodyear through de Hauke & Co (Until 1929); Anson Conger Goodyear [1877-1964], Old Westbury, NY (1929-); (Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York) (?); Walter Bareiss [1919-2007], Greenwich, CT (?); (Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, sold to Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.); (Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. [1889-1957], Cleveland, OH, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1952-1958); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1958-)
Accession Number
1958.51
Medium
oil on wood panel
Dimensions
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.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
