Final Study for "Bathers at Asnières"
1883
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
15.8 × 25.1 cm (6 1/4 × 9 7/8 in.); Framed: 54.3 × 63.9 × 6.1 cm (21 3/8 × 25 1/8 × 2 3/8 in.)
Classification
oil on panel
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
20199
Art Historical Context
Georges Seurat’s “Final Study for ‘Bathers at Asnières’” offers a fascinating glimpse into the artist’s meticulous creative process. Painted in 1883, this small oil-on-panel work served as a preparatory study for Seurat’s first major canvas, “Bathers at Asnières,” now housed in London’s National Gallery. At just 15.8 by 25.1 centimeters, the panel allowed Seurat to refine his composition of working-class figures relaxing along the Seine River on a summer afternoon. The piece reflects the early stages of his experimentation with color and light, before he fully developed his signature Pointilli...
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...