Grandcamp, Evening
Georges-Pierre Seurat
French, 1859–1891
1885, painted border c. 1888-89
An oil on canvas seaside view in which Seurat applied thousands of small, ordered dots and strokes to capture the subtle glow and hush of evening light.
From a distance you feel a calm sweep of pale sky and shimmering water, but up close the picture dissolves into countless tiny color touches that vibrate together to suggest a hedge-lined promenade, distant buildings, and a single sailboat on the horizon.
An early demonstration of Seurat’s divisionist method, this work helped codify Neo-Impressionist ideas about optical color mixing and a scientific approach to representing light and atmosphere in modern painting.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
26 x 32 1/2" (66.2 x 82.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Estate of John Hay Whitney
Accession
285.1983
Palette
Exhibitions
