The Bridge at Courbevoie

Copyright

Work in the public domain
Image: Courtauld
by-nc

Maker


1859-1891

Title

The Bridge at Courbevoie

Date of Production

c. 1886-87

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

Height: 46.4 cm (canvas)
Width: 55.3 cm (canvas)

Object Number

P.1948.SC.394

Mode of Acquisition

Samuel Courtauld, bequest, 1948

Credit

Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Location

On display
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Keywords

Label Text

Georges Seurat painted this view of the river Seine using a technique he had recently developed, called ‘pointillism’. It entailed placing coloured dots side by side to create an image, instead of mixing colours on a palette. New optical theories at the time suggested that this made the surface of the painting more vibrant. However, the overall effect is one of melancholy and stillness, emphasised by the vertical trees and masts of the boats. The factory chimney in the background is a reminder that the riverside town of Courbevoie was rapidly becoming an industrial suburb of Paris.

Inscriptions

Inscription: inscription : signed : bottom left & recto : : Seurat

Provenance

Arséne Alexandre, Paris,1887; Alexandre Sale, Paris, 18 May 1903 (lot 57); Georges Petit, Paris; with LW Gutbier, Dresden; Bignou, Paris; Reid and Lefèvre, London; purchased by Samuel Courtauld, July 1926; Courtauld Bequest 1948

Exhibition History

Masterpieces of Impressionism from The Courtauld Gallery, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 10/09/2019-15/12/2019; Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya, Japan, 03/01/2020-15/03/2020; Kobe City Museum, Kobe, Japan, 28/03/2020-21/06/2020
The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019
Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cezanne, National Gallery, London, 17/09/2018-20/01/2019
...More
Bridget Riley: Learning from Seurat, Courtauld Gallery, London, 17/09/2015-17/01/2016
Neo-Impressionism, Musee d'Orsay & Paris & France, 14/03/2005-26/06/2005
Part of general displays, J Paul Getty Museum & Los Angeles & USA, 08/01/2004-21/04/2004
Georges Seurat and the Neo-Impressionism 1885 - 1905, Seiji Togo Memorial Yasuda Kasai Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, 26/10/2002-13/12/2002
Georges Seurat and the Neo-Impressionism 1885 - 1905, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, 09/09/2002-20/10/2002
Georges Seurat and the Neo-Impressionism 1885 - 1905, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, Utsonomiya, Japan, 21/07/2002-01/09/2002
Georges Seurat and the Neo-Impressionism 1885 - 1905, Museum of Art, Kochi, Japan, 22/05/2002-14/07/2002
National Gallery (to be displayed with permanent collection), National Gallery, London, 01/09/1997-01/06/1998
Landscape in French Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1949-1950
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