Study for "Bathers at Asnières"
Georges Seurat (French, 1859–1891)
c. 1883–84
Medium
oil on wood panel
Dimensions
unframed: 15.7 × 24.9 cm · framed: 32 × 41 × 5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Accession Number
1958.51
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
male
About this artwork
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.