The Mower
1881–82
Medium
Oil on wood
Dimensions
6 1/2 × 9 7/8 in. (16.5 × 25.1 cm) Framed: 14 3/8 × 17 7/8 in. (36.5 × 45.4 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.206
Tags
Art Historical Context
Georges Seurat's *The Mower* (1881–82), a compact oil on wood measuring just 6½ × 9⅞ inches, captures a moment of rural labor with quiet intensity. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Robert Lehman Collection, this work by the French artist depicts a lone man at work in the fields—likely swinging a scythe amid golden summer grass—evoking the timeless rhythm of agrarian life. Painted on a portable wooden panel, its small scale suggests it may have been a study or plein-air sketch, a format favored by artists exploring nature directly from life. Created when Seurat was in his early twent...
About the Artist
Georges Seurat · 1859–1891
Georges Seurat (1859-1891) was the founder of Neo-Impressionism and the inventor of Pointillism, a revolutionary technique that transformed how artists understand and apply color. In a tragically brief career cut short at age 31, Seurat produced only seven monumental paintings, yet his systematic application of color theory fundamentally altered the direction of modern art. Born in Paris to a pro...