Description
Georges Seurat – Bathers, Asnières
| Year of creation: | 1884 |
| Original size: | 300 cm x 201 cm |
| Painting style: | Post-impressionism and pointillism |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Located: | The National Gallery, London |
Asnières is an industrial suburb of western Paris on the banks of the Seine. In the painting Bathers, Asnières, the painter depicted a group of young workers resting by the river.
The painting is the first of Seurat’s large compositions. During the preparations, he drew many studies of individual figures, for which he used live models, as well as many small oil paintings on the banks of the Seine River, with which he helped himself in the design of the composition and the effects of light. He painted the final composition in the studio.
In the painting, the artist did not use his technique of pointillism, as he had not yet invented it – Seurat only later reworked parts of this painting by adding dots in contrasting colors, creating a lively atmosphere in the painting. For example, he later added dots in orange and blue to the boy’s hat. The simple and regular shapes clearly defined by the light are reminiscent of the works of the Renaissance artist Piero della Francesco.
