Georges Seurat

Seurat, Georges Pierre
French, 1859 - 1891

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Green hills roll back to a turquoise-blue sea in this almost square painting. The scene is built with layers of small dots in lavender, lilac, cool blue, warm green, yellow, and peach. The hill angles from nearly the top left corner of the canvas to the lower right, filling the bottom left half of the canvas. It is mostly variegated shades of green but there are two cliff-like, purple surfaces to our left and a lighter patch of yellow to our right. A pole and a cross-shaped structure atop the hill to the left could be utility poles. An object on the water in the distance to our right may be a buoy or a boat. Peach lines the horizon, which comes just over halfway up the composition, and straw yellow and cornflower blue ripple across the sky above.
Georges Seurat, Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, 1888, oil on canvas, Gift of the W. Averell Harriman Foundation in memory of Marie N. Harriman, 1972.9.21

Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy

Georges Seurat · 1888 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1972.9.21
Painted entirely with small dots of pure color mostly in slate and azure blue, olive green, and cream white, this scene shows a sandy beach stretching to a lighthouse at the center and a four-story building to our right in this horizontal seascape. The tall, slender lighthouse standing on the water’s edge a short distance from us is painted with specks of azure and sky blue, ivory, and peach. In the distance to our left, a pier stretches into the sea along the horizon, which comes about two-thirds of the way up this composition. A sailboat floats just off the pier, near the left edge of the painting. To our right of the lighthouse and extending off the right edge of the canvas, the building has three levels of windows and a row of dormers along the tall, peaked roof. The building is painted with touches of dove gray, sapphire blue, and pale pink. In front of the building and to our right, a denim-blue shed has a tangerine-orange roof. A wooden rowboat outlined in cornflower blue with flecks of dandelion yellow rests on the sand next to the shed. In front of us, dots of moss green blend into the blond tones of the sand, creating an impression of grass on the beach. Sunlight shimmers on the sea to our left, which is painted with short dashes of mint and seafoam green, baby blue, cream, and shell pink, beneath a clear, ice-blue sky.
Georges Seurat, The Lighthouse at Honfleur, 1886, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983.1.33

The Lighthouse at Honfleur

Georges Seurat · 1886 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1983.1.33
This horizontal, rectangular painting is created entirely with dots and touches of sky and royal blue, butter and sunshine yellow, and spring green. From afar, we realize it shows a sandy dune stretching before us in front of the sea beyond. Bands of blue against a yellow field above the horizon read as blue clouds against a sunny sky. The artist also painted a darker border made of dots in navy blue, army green, and a little bit of rust orange around the edge to create a painted frame.
Georges Seurat, Seascape (Gravelines), 1890, oil on wood, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 2012.89.8

Seascape (Gravelines)

Georges Seurat · 1890 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2012.89.8
The image shows a person standing nude. The person's body is slightly angled and tilted to the side, with hands held together in front of the torso. They have short hair styled away from the face and delicately rendered facial features, with a subtle expression. There is no clothing, jewelry, or objects. The background consists of lightly detailed sketch lines portraying an interior space with geometric shapes. The name "Seurat" is inscribed at the bottom left corner of the image.
Georges Seurat, Study after "The Models", 1888, pen and brown ink over graphite on wove paper, The Armand Hammer Collection, 1991.217.69

Study after "The Models"

Georges Seurat · 1888 · pen and brown ink over graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1991.217.69
This horizontal landscape is painted with dots and dashes in fresh green, shimmering blue, amethyst purple, shell pink, pale yellow, and cream white against the brown wood of the panel, which is visible throughout. Though loosely painted, a scene with a grassy area hemmed to our left and along the back with a body of water comes into focus. A person sits near the bank to our left. Daubs in violet could be more people walking in the near distance among trees. An arc of white suggests a sailboat near the shoreline off to our left. The artist signed the painting in red in the lower left, “Seurat.”
Georges Seurat, Study for "La Grande Jatte", 1884/1885, oil on wood, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970.17.81

Study for "La Grande Jatte"

Georges Seurat · 1884/1885 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  1970.17.81
In this painting, thick, overlapping strokes of paint create the blurred image of people standing and sitting on grass. In the center, two people in pink and dark purple appear to sit on the green ground, facing the left. The person in front holds a parasol, while the person in the back holds a red flower. In the top left corner, two people seem to stand on the grass. The person on the left seems like a child dressed in a white garment, holding a red object at their side. To the right of the child is a column of pink, suggesting a partially visible adult whose head is beyond the top edge of the painting. Strong shadows are cast on the grass by the people as well as unseen objects, turning sections of the grass dark green.
Georges Seurat, Study of Figures for "La Grande Jatte", 1884/1885, oil on wood, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 2014.18.57

Study of Figures for "La Grande Jatte"

Georges Seurat · 1884/1885 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2014.18.57
This painting shows an expansive green and yellow grassland under a textured blue and white sky. The horizon line is high, separating the fields and clouds with a thin line of dark trees and small white buildings. The dark silhouette of a small person is in the grass to the left, and a tall tree is in the background on the far-left side. Small dashes of blue and peach paint decorate the grass, and there are streaks of red and peach in the sky. The brushstrokes are short and feathery, giving the scene a blurred quality.
Georges Seurat, A Summer Landscape, 1883, oil on wood, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 2014.18.52

A Summer Landscape

Georges Seurat · 1883 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2014.18.52
This painting shows a scene with several people spaced out across a grassy expanse. The horizon is high in the painting, lined with white structures with red roofs and green trees. Closest to us are the silhouettes of several people engaged in leisurely activities. One person appears to sit on a grass hill, while others walk in opposite directions down a path, two holding umbrellas. The people are painted with thick, dark paint strokes, and have no detail inside their forms. Behind them, towards the horizon, is a wide pink stretch that could be a river or a path. The brushstrokes in the painting are loose and expressive, contributing to a sense of movement in the depiction of both the people and the landscape. The overall color palette consists of warm earth tones, muted greens, soft pinks, and gentle blues. Different colors are layered on top of one another in short brushstrokes, giving the painting a blurred effect.
Georges Seurat, Figures in a Landscape, c. 1883, oil on wood, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 2014.18.53

Figures in a Landscape

Georges Seurat · c. 1883 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2014.18.53
This painting depicts a scene by the water. Closest to us, a pile of objects sits on a grassy bank. The objects are indistinct, but there appears to be a white bundle with a gold-and-black object perched on it, surrounded by smaller round brown lumps. The green, grassy slope stretches off along the left, and it has a rectangular yellow section. On the right is a river or body of water painted in light blue with lines of green, red, and tan overlapping across the surface. In the distance, a large pale bridge stretches over the water, with vertical lines that look like smokestacks in the distance. Pale pink and purple smoke drifts up from one of them. On the left, tall, dark green trees surround light shapes that may be buildings. The sky is light blue-green. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible, blending color and the edges between shapes, making details hard to identify.
Georges Seurat, The Seine with Clothing on the Bank (Study for "Bathers at Asnières"), 1883/1884, oil on wood, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 2014.18.56

The Seine with Clothing on the Bank (Study for "Bathers at Asnières")

Georges Seurat · 1883/1884 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2014.18.56
The painting features a large gray watering can in the bottom right corner, set against a lush garden background. Bushes on the right side are speckled with dots of pink, yellow, blue, orange, and purple, suggesting flowers. A dirt path extends from the bottom left up towards a white wall that stretches horizontally across the scene. The watering can rests on the edge of the path. Above the wall are more dark green trees with a small patch of light blue sky. The paint in this image has been applied with small, visible dots and short brushstrokes.
Georges Seurat, The Watering Can - Garden at Le Raincy, c. 1883, oil on wood, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 2014.18.51

The Watering Can - Garden at Le Raincy

Georges Seurat · c. 1883 · oil on wood ·  Accession ID  2014.18.51

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