The Picnic

Georges Seuratca. 1885

Details

Title: The Picnic
Creator: Georges Seurat
Creator Lifespan: 1859 - 1891
Creator Nationality: French
Creator Gender: Male
Creator Death Place: Paris, France
Creator Birth Place: Paris, France
Date: ca. 1885
Physical Dimensions: 6 1/4 x 10 inches
Description: In the mid 1880s, Seurat made frequent excursions to the Island of la Grand Jatte in the river Seine. A short distance from Paris, the island was a fashionable destination for bathers, Sunday strollers, and picnickers. It was also attractive to painters like Seurat who found modern Parisians enjoying their leisure a compelling subject for their art. Seurat based his famous A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte on a multitude of drawings and oil sketches he made there. The Picnic, an image of three children enjoying an outdoor lunch, may well have been one of the oil sketches Seurat painted with La Grande Jatte in mind. However, the figural grouping in The Picnic does not appear in the final version of Seurat’s masterpiece.
Provenance: Gift of Montgomery H. W. Ritchie
Type: Oil paintings
Rights: Dixon Gallery and Gardens. For Terms and Conditions for use of this image please contact the Registrar at 901-761-5250.
Medium: Oil on panel

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