Artwork
The Watering Can - Garden at Le Raincy
The Watering Can - Garden at Le Raincy 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.
About this work
Technique & Style
The medium consists of oil on wood, a durable support choice typical for Seurat's preparatory studies and smaller compositions of this period.
Georges Seurat executed The Watering Can - Garden at Le Raincy in 1883 using oil paint applied to a wood panel support. The work measures 24.77 cm in height and 15.24 cm in width. As an early study from 1883, the painting demonstrates the artist's engagement with the small-scale format that would characterize his later experiments, though the specific application of dots is not detailed in the available records.
The medium consists of oil on wood, a durable support choice typical for Seurat's preparatory studies and smaller compositions of this period.
History & Provenance
The work dates to 1883, when Georges Seurat painted The Watering Can – Garden at Le Raincy on wood panel in oil.
By 1925 the painting belonged to Leon Appert, Seurat's brother-in-law in Paris. It descended to his son, Maurice Appert, and was later owned by M. Marcelin, Paris. The Marcelin estate sold it at Hotel Drouot, Paris, on 31 May 1956 (lot 25), after which Paul Rosenberg, New York, handled the work.
By 1966 it had entered the collection of Paul Mellon in Upperville, Virginia. Mellon bequeathed the painting to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in 1999, with a life interest retained by his wife, Rachel Lambert Mellon.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., recorded under accession 1999.1.76. It was included in the exhibition French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce at the National Gallery of Art in 1966, where it was lent by the Mellons and catalogued as no. 141.
Overview
Georges Seurat’s oil on wood, dated around 1883, presents a modest garden scene titled The Watering Can – Garden at Le Raincy. The composition centers on a solitary woman poised with a watering can amid foliage, rendered with a restrained palette that emphasizes a tranquil atmosphere. The work exemplifies Seurat’s early exploration of everyday subjects through a measured visual language.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a woman engaged in the simple act of watering plants, positioned near blossoms and trees. Her poised stance and the quiet activity suggest a moment of contemplation and domestic serenity. By focusing on an ordinary task, Seurat highlights the dignity of everyday labor within a natural 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.
