Georges Seurat (1859–1891)
1888, reworked around 1889
Oil paint on canvas
Port-en-Bessin, summer 1888
Georges Seurat captured fishing boats leaving the safety of the harbour and heading out to the open sea, already dotted with many white sails. To paint this view, the artist remained in the same spot as for the painting on the left (number 14) but rotated north towards the sea. The patches of darker blue on the water, representing the shadow of clouds, constitute a particularly stylised and patterned element of the composition. They reveal how light and shadow can be created through colour, something that fascinated Seurat. The soft and iridescent light of the northern coast is compellingly rendered by Seurat’s nuanced application of varied dots.