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Georges Seurat, 'A River Bank (The Seine at Asnières)', about 1883

About the work

This small panel may be linked to Seurat’s earliest sketches and ideas for Bathers at Asnières (1883–4), although it is not normally included in the 13 sketches which have been tied to that painting.

The carefully organised geometry of the scene, which divides the picture into distinct sections, can be seen in the Bathers. The vertical axis of the striped pole on the left, which is echoed by another vertical in the distance, is countered by the horizontal band of the distant riverbank. The diagonal line of the closer riverbank forms one side of the almost triangular shape of the water – a feature which also appears in the Bathers.

Seurat has used long, horizontal brushstrokes for the water and choppier strokes for the riverbank and foliage. Although he had not yet developed his pointillist technique of painting with small dots of colour, it is perhaps anticipated here, especially in the juxtaposed dabs of pink, blue and yellow-green in the lower-right foreground.

Key facts

Full title
A River Bank (The Seine at Asnières)
Artist
Georges Seurat
Artist dates
1859 - 1891
Date made
about 1883
Medium and support
oil on wood
Dimensions
15.8 × 24.7 cm
Acquisition credit
Presented by Heinz Berggruen, 1995
Inventory number
NG6559
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

More works by Georges Seurat

(Showing 6 of 10 works)
Bathers at Asnières
Bathers at Asnières
Georges Seurat
This large picture was Seurat’s first major composition, painted when he had not yet turned 25. He intended it to be a grand statement with which he would make his mark at the official Salon in the spring of 1884, but it was rejected.Several men and boys relax on the banks of the Seine at Asnière...
Room 44
Clothes on the Grass: Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'
Clothes on the Grass: Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'
Georges Seurat
Not on display
Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp
Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp
Georges Seurat
Not on display
Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'
Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'
Georges Seurat
Of the small panels in the National Gallery’s collection related to Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières, this oil sketch on wood is perhaps the one most closely connected with the final painting. Unlike other sketches, which concentrate on atmospheric effects or the landscape, Seurat’s focus here is alm...
Not on display
Study for 'La Grande Jatte'
Study for 'La Grande Jatte'
Georges Seurat
This is one of the earliest studies for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte of 1884–6 (Art Institute of Chicago), and was very likely painted on location. As this sketch was painted in the morning, the sunlight and shadows are the reverse of other studies and of the final painting itself, which shows the...
Not on display
Study for 'La Grande Jatte'
Study for 'La Grande Jatte'
Georges Seurat
Seurat produced many oil sketches and drawings as studies for his monumental painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte of 1884–6 (Art Institute of Chicago). Many of these concentrate on the landscape but others, including this one, focus on the scale and position of figures within the final picture.He...
Not on display
The Channel of Gravelines, Grand Fort-Philippe
The Channel of Gravelines, Grand Fort-Philippe
Georges Seurat
This is one of four paintings Seurat produced in 1890 near the town of Gravelines, a small port on the northern French coast between Calais and Dunkirk. Positioned on the sand dunes of Petit-Fort-Philippe, we see the shore in the morning light after the receding tide has left a broad expanse of o...
Not on display
The Morning Walk
The Morning Walk
Georges Seurat
This panel was most likely painted in 1885 and relates to a medium-size canvas, The Seine at Courbevoie (now in a private collection in Paris). Seurat may have painted it before he decided to produce a finished picture of this particular view of the river, or it may be a preparatory study.The ver...
Not on display
The Rainbow: Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'
The Rainbow: Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'
Georges Seurat
This is the only sketch for Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières that includes a rainbow, which was painted over the sky once the paint had dried. Although perhaps a rather contrived image, the mottled sky suggests Seurat may have seen a rainbow. It is evidence of his attention to particular effects of l...
Not on display
The Seine seen from La Grande Jatte
The Seine seen from La Grande Jatte
Georges Seurat
The island of La Grande Jatte and the views from it across the river Seine were a rich source of pictorial subjects for Seurat during the 1880s. He was especially attracted to this location, in part because of the pictorial forms and structures it offered, such as the horizontal of the river and...
Not on display
You've viewed 6 of 10 works