Two Sailboats at Grandcamp (Deux voiliers à Grandcamp)

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FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Like other members of the Parisian avant-garde, Seurat spent his summers painting in the boating towns of Normandy. In 1886, he exhibited views of Grandcamp alongside his renowned A Sunday on La Grande Jatte , for which he completed plein air studies (painted outdoors) like this one. This small study of sailboats reveals Seurat's process of making oil sketches outdoors before executing the final work in the studio. Unlike in his paintings with precise "points" of color, the blue-gray tones of the contemplative Normandy coast are suggested here by long brushstrokes of varying size and length, which float above and below the horizon line.

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