Description
Port-en-Bessin, the Outer Harbor at High Tide is a painting by Georges Seurat from 1888: from a grassy slope the eye drops to the calm water of the harbour with its jetties and sailing boats, on the right a green headland rises above a village of pale roofs, and beyond it the sea opens to the horizon. The original, oil paint on canvas, measures 82 x 66 cm and is held by the Musée d’Orsay in Paris under number RF 1952 1. We make it as a canvas painting, hand-painted in oils, in eight sizes or to your own measurements, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval.
| Title: | Port-en-Bessin, the Outer Harbor at High Tide |
| Other titles: | »Port-en-Bessin, avant-port, marée haute« |
| Painter: | Georges Seurat (1859–1891) |
| Year painted: | 1888 |
| Original size: | 82 cm x 66 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Pointillism – painting with dots |
| Located at: | Musée d’Orsay, Paris (inv. no. RF 1952 1) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes from 46 x 38 cm to 150 x 120 cm, custom size on request |
Port-en-Bessin, the Outer Harbor at High Tide – Georges Seurat
What does the painting show?
The harbour of a small coastal town, seen from above. In the foreground a grassy slope runs along the bottom and up the right side, with thin blades of grass standing against the water. Below it lies the calm harbour. A long, low jetty crosses the middle of the painting, and behind it a second one reaches from the left towards the shore. On the front jetty stands an elongated building with a row of dark openings, and beside it and on the jetties there are a few tiny figures, each suggested with a few touches. On the left are sailing boats: a large one with a tall sail by the far jetty, two smaller ones at lower left, a small sail further out and, on the horizon, sails that are barely visible. On the right a village climbs the shore, a cluster of houses with pale roofs and a few tall poles, and above it rises a green headland crossed by a path. Behind it, towards the left, a second, more distant headland appears. At the top is a wide sky with grey clouds.
What is on the canvas?
A horizontal canvas on which everything, from the grass to the clouds, is built from tiny dots of pure colour placed side by side. This way of painting is called pointillism: the colours are not mixed on the palette but only in the viewer’s eye. Clear lines hold the composition together. The slope in the foreground curves from the lower left corner towards the right edge, while the two jetties lie almost level and divide the water into two bands. The outline of the headland on the right descends into the soft curve of the shore, and the horizon sits high, in the upper third. Because we look down from above, the water opens out as a large, calm surface in which the sails are mirrored. Our photograph of the original comes from an older shot, and its colours may be stronger than those of the canvas in the museum, so here we describe the subject and composition rather than exact shades.
Why does this painting matter?
Because it gathers into a single view everything a harbour is made of: water, jetties, boats, village, headland and open sea. No detail stands out; everything is woven evenly into the fabric of dots, so the painting feels ordered, almost geometric, and yet full of light. Here the French painter Georges Seurat paints not an event but a state: the title says the harbour is at high tide, the water is high and calm, and the boats are out on it. The original is in the collection of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. For a buyer it is a bright, airy sea view with plenty of space and depth, right for a room where you want a view into the distance.
What does the painting mean?
The museum record does not interpret the scene, so we read no more into it than the eye can see. We see a calm day on the coast: the village is quiet, the people on the jetties are tiny, the sailing boats wait or glide without haste. The view from the rise feels like standing in a meadow above the town and looking down at the water and out to the horizon. The painting tells no story; it invites the eye to travel slowly from the grass in the foreground across the harbour to the headland and the sea. At home it feels calm and open, and its greens and light tones go well with wood, linen, white walls and plants.
What place does it have among Seurat’s works?
The museum dates the painting to 1888 and calls it »Port-en-Bessin, avant-port, marée haute«. The same outer harbour, but at low tide, as its title already says, appears in Port-en-Bessin, the Outer Harbor at Low Tide, held by the Saint Louis Art Museum; one canvas shows high tide, the other low tide. From the town the titles name, we also offer Port-en-Bessin, Entrance to the Harbor, held by MoMA in New York, and Port-en-Bessin (Minneapolis), which is in Minneapolis. If you want several views of the same place on your wall, these canvases can hang together, and the pair of high and low tide suits that especially well.
How is our hand-painted version made?
With a brush and oil paint, never by machine. Our painter works from an image of the original and sets the dots down one by one, so that, as with Seurat, the colours mix only in the eye. A pointillist technique demands patience: the grassy slope, the water, the roofs and the clouds are made of thousands of tiny touches. We give special care to the calm water, which must stay bright and even, to the thin blades of grass in front of it and to the small sails on the horizon. Because everything is done by hand, no two canvases are ever quite alike, and each hand-painted copy is one of a kind. We do not have our own photographs of a finished canvas of this subject yet; the first time we paint it, we will photograph it and publish the photographs here.
Which size for which wall?
If you are not sure which to choose, take 80 x 65 cm. It is our size closest to the original, which measures 82 x 66 cm: ours is 2 cm narrower and 1 cm lower. The format is horizontal, so it fits above a sofa, a chest of drawers or a bed. 46 x 38 and 50 x 40 cm suit smaller walls, hallways and a study; 60 x 50 and 70 x 60 cm fill a medium-sized wall in a bedroom or dining room by themselves; 80 x 65 and 90 x 75 cm are living-room sizes at which the dots show beautifully; 120 x 100 and 150 x 120 cm are meant for large, empty walls, where the harbour and the sea open up almost like a window. Every oil painting reproduction of this subject is made to order.
Custom size, stretcher bar and frame
If none of the eight sizes suits your wall, we paint to your measurements and keep the proportions of the original, so that the slope, the two jetties and the headland stay in balance; that is our custom size painting service. You can order the painting in three forms: as a rolled canvas without a stretcher, stretched on a wooden stretcher bar and ready to hang, or framed; you choose the form when you order. You choose a frame in our 3D app, which shows gold, silver, black, white and wooden profiles on this subject; the app is only for choosing the frame. To see the painting on your own wall, there is our separate room-visualisation service.
Delivery and guarantee
Every canvas is painted to order in our studio, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size. We ship it in the form you chose when ordering — rolled, stretched or framed — protected for transport, within Slovenia and across the EU with no customs duty. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval, and our returns policy applies to every order. All of Seurat’s subjects are collected in the Georges Seurat gallery, and our article about Georges Seurat explains when a fine art reproduction of a famous painting is truly good.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original?
In the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, under number RF 1952 1. According to the museum record it was bought in 1952 with funds from an anonymous Canadian donation.
Are there people in the painting?
Yes, but very small: a few figures on the jetties and by the building on the front jetty, each suggested with only a few dots.
What does the French title mean?
»Avant-port« is the outer harbour and »marée haute« is high tide. Our English title translates the museum’s title.
Is this a print?
No. It is hand-painted oil on canvas; the dots and brushstrokes are visible and can be felt.
Which size should I choose?
80 x 65 cm, the size closest to the original. The detailed guide is above.
Can I have a size that is not on the list?
Yes. We paint to measure and keep the side ratio of the original.
Is this neo-impressionism?
The museum record does not assign the painting to a movement, so neither do we. What is visible is a surface of tiny dots of pure colour placed side by side.
Are the colours in the photograph of the original accurate?
Not entirely. The photograph comes from an older shot, so the colours may be stronger than in the original; the subject and composition, however, are shown in full.
Is the original for sale?
No. The canvas belongs to the museum’s collection and is not for sale; we can paint it by hand for your home.
How high should I hang it?
With its centre at eye level, about 145–150 cm from the floor; hang the smaller sizes lower, nearer to where you sit.
Is it a good gift?
Yes, especially for someone who loves the sea, the coast and sailing boats. If you would rather leave the choice to the recipient, there is our gift voucher.
- Subject: the harbour of Port-en-Bessin at high tide with jetties, sailing boats, the village and a green headland, seen from a grassy slope – 1888
- Original: 82 x 66 cm, oil paint on canvas, Musée d’Orsay, Paris (inv. no. RF 1952 1)
- Ours: hand-painted, eight sizes from 46 x 38 to 150 x 120 cm, as a rolled canvas, stretched or framed — your choice
- Worth knowing: a related canvas in Saint Louis shows the same outer harbour at low tide, as the titles of both paintings say
