Artwork
Figures in a Landscape
Figures in a Landscape is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Georges Seurat. It dates from 1883 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right, artist's cachet: SEURAT
About this work
Technique & Style
The work belongs to the landscape genre and is part of the National Gallery of Art collection in Washington, D.
The painting is an oil work executed on a wooden support. Its material composition is oil paint on panel, with recorded dimensions of 15.24 by 24.77 cm.
The work belongs to the landscape genre and is part of the National Gallery of Art collection in Washington, D.C. As a Seurat piece from 1883, it exemplifies the artist's approach to surface and color within the medium of oil on wood, though specific handling or condition details are not provided in the available sources.
History & Provenance
Figures in a Landscape was painted by Georges Seurat in 1883 using oil on wood. After the artist's death the work passed to his estate and was acquired by the Paris dealer Bernheim-Jeune in 1908, later appearing in the stock of Heim in Paris and the Wildenstein firm in New York. It entered the London gallery of Alex Reid & Lefevre in 1949, where it was exhibited as La Promenade.
In 1963 William A. Cargill's estate sold the painting at Sotheby's London (lot 43); the buyer, Acciarri, transferred it to Hector Brame in Paris, who subsequently sold it to Paul Mellon. Mellon bequeathed the work to the National Gallery of Art in 1999, retaining a life interest for his wife Rachel Lambert Mellon.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection as part of the Paul Mellon Bequest in 1999. Its accession number is 1999.89.12.
Context
Figures in a Landscape is an oil on wood panel painted in 1883 by Georges Seurat. It is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C. and is classified as a landscape painting. The painting remained in Seurat's possession until his death in 1891, after which it passed through the Paris dealer Bernheim-Jeune and the Wildenstein firm in New York before being sold in 1963.
It was shown in the 1949 Lefevre Gallery exhibition, where it was listed as La Promenade, helping to foreground Seurat's early landscape subjects within his broader pointillist practice.
Overview
Georges Seurat's oil painting, Figures in a Landscape, created around 1883, presents a scene featuring three individuals within an open field. Executed on wood, the work employs a subdued color palette to depict its subjects against a distant architectural backdrop, characteristic of the artist's early explorations. The composition reflects an interest in capturing figures within their environment.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on three distinct figures, with one individual prominently positioned, drawing the viewer's eye. They are situated in an expansive field, which recedes towards a horizon punctuated by various buildings. This arrangement suggests an observation of everyday life or a contemplative moment within a natural, yet partially developed, environment, inviting interpretation of their interaction with the setting.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Georges Pierre Seurat (UK: SUR-ah, -ə, US: suu-RAH; French:; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist.
