At the beginning of Seurat’s career he made about seventy oil studies on small wood panels, which he called croquetons (little sketches). These durable boards were easily transported and held in the hand, making them ideal for painting outdoors. This is among the earliest of the studies that Seurat made along the Seine River on the outskirts of Paris, where fishermen, such as the duo in the foreground, cast their lines amid commercial barges and industrial smokestacks. Seurat’s first major painting, Bathers at Asnières (1884; National Gallery, London) is set along a similar stretch of the river.
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Title:View of the Seine
Artist:Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris)
Date:1882–83
Medium:Oil on wood
Dimensions:6 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (15.9 x 24.8 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Bequest of Mabel Choate, in memory of her father, Joseph Hodges Choate, 1958
Accession Number:59.16.5
Henry van de Velde (1891–1929); Félix Fénéon, Paris; [Bernheim-Jeune, Paris]; ?[Valentine Gallery, New York and Paris]; Mabel Choate, New York (until d. 1958)
Paris. Bernheim-Jeune. "Georges Seurat (1859–1891)," December 14, 1908–January 9, 1909, no. 25 (as "Le Pont," lent by M. H[enry]. V[an]. d[e]. V[elde].).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Georges Seurat, 1859–1891," September 24, 1991–January 12, 1992, no. 95.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Neo-Impressionism: The Circle of Paul Signac," October 2–December 30, 2001, no catalogue.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Seurat and the Making of 'La Grande Jatte'," June 16–September 19, 2004, no. 12.
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Georges Seurat: Figure in Space," October 2, 2009–January 17, 2010, no. 37 (as "Le Pont [The Bridge, View of the Seine]").
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. "Georges Seurat: Figure in Space," February 4–May 9, 2010, no. 37 (as "Le Pont [The Bridge, View of the Seine]").
Henri Dorra and John Rewald. Seurat: L'œuvre peint, biographie et catalogue critique. Paris, 1959, p. 75, no. 78, ill., date it about 1883; incorrectly list it as no. 49 bis in Exh. Paris 1908–9 (see Dauberville 1960 and Herbert 1991).
Jean Dauberville. Letter to Mary Ann Wurth. May 5, 1960, states that in the archives for Exh. Paris 1908–9 a photograph of it was inscribed on the back by Félix Fénéon with the following: "No. 49 bis - Croqueton - Vers 1883 - Famille APPERT (?)"; concludes that if the picture was included in this exhibition it was "hors catalogue" [see Ref. Herbert 1991].
C. M. de Hauke. Seurat et son œuvre. Paris, 1961, vol. 1, pp. 44–45, no. 77, ill., dates it about 1883; identifies the site as the riverbank opposite that depicted in Seurat's "Bathing at Asnières" of 1883–84 (National Gallery, London; DR98; H92).
Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 3, XIX–XX Centuries. New York, 1967, p. 194, ill., state that it depicts the same part of the Seine as "The Bridge at Courbevoie" of about 1883 (formerly Georges Renand collection, Paris; DR85; H83), except from the opposite bank, and that both are preparatory studies for "Bathing at Asnières" (National Gallery, London).
Fiorella Minervino inL'opera completa di Seurat. [1st, French ed., 1973]. Milan, 1972, p. 96, no. 81, ill., dates it 1883.
Herbert Wotte. Georges Seurat: Wesen, Werk, Wirkung. Dresden, 1988, p. 214, no. 22, ill., dates it about 1883 and erroneously states that the current owner is unknown.
Catherine Grenier. Seurat: Catalogo completo dei dipinti. Florence, 1990, fig. 82, dates it 1883.
Robert L. Herbert et al. Georges Seurat, 1859–1891. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1991, pp. 85, 135–36, 139, 433, no. 95, ill. (color) [French ed., "Seurat", Paris, pp. 125, 170–71, 173, no. 94, ill. (color)], dates it 1882–83; suggests that the large building and chimney in the background may be the same as those depicted in the drawing "Men in Front of a Factory" of 1882–83 (Musée du Louvre, Paris; H550); notes that although Fénéon labeled the photograph of it "49 bis" when planning Exh. Paris 1908–9, he changed it to no. 25 in the catalogue [see Refs. Dorra and Rewald 1959, and Dauberville 1960]; does not believe that it is a study for the "Bathing at Asnières" in London.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 500, ill.
Paul Smith inThe Dictionary of Art. Ed. Jane Turner. Vol. 28, New York, 1996, p. 501, as "Fishermen near a Bridge".
Robert L. Herbert et al. Seurat and the Making of "La Grande Jatte". Exh. cat., Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, 2004, pp. 40, 96, 272, no. 12, ill. p. 43 (color), dates it 1883 and notes that it portrays Clichy, one of the rapidly growing industrial suburban communities on the outskirts of Paris.
This picture depicts the industrial suburb of Clichy. The building in the background also appears in Seurat's drawing Men in Front of a Factory of 1882–83 (Musée du Louvre, Paris; H550) and relates to the painting Bathing at Asnières of 1884 (National Gallery, London; H92; see Herbert 2004).
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