Georges Seurat (1859–1891)
1885
Oil paint on wood panel
Grandcamp, summer 1885
Georges Seurat often made oil sketches on small wooden panels as part of his creative process. He painted them out of doors using a travel paint box, which held his panels on the inside of the lid and painting materials in the bottom. This work was made on the tall cliffs of western Normandy, overlooking a famous rock formation along the coast. It is preparatory for the painting on the left, whose composition follows the sketch quite closely. The distinctive rock feature no longer exists in this form due to erosion and damage sustained during the Normandy landings of the Second World War.