1890 · Last marine campaign and refined divisionism

Explore Gravelines painted by Georges Seurat in 1890: channel, beach, lighthouses and fortifications become architectures of calm lines and points of light.

In the summer of 1890, Georges Seurat stayed in Gravelines, near Dunkirk, for his last seascape campaign. Since Grandcamp in 1885, he has regularly spent the summer on the coast working on light in the open air and then resume his paintings in the workshop. Gravelines offers it a less picturesque landscape than the Norman ports: rectilinear channel, quays, locks, beacons, beach and forts cut out the space with an almost abstract geometry. Seurat tightens its points, limits its palette and builds very clear light. In Le Chenal de Gravelines, the verticals of the masts and signals respond to the horizon. In the evening, the same structures become quieter without losing their precision. The view towards the sea opens the canal towards a strip of light, while the beach further reduces the landscape to a few planes. Four of these paintings were presented at the Salon des Indépendants in 1891, at the time of the sudden death of the artist. The series thus summarizes the culmination of a method where observation, science of color and geometric balance merge. The "Gravelines by Georges Seurat" selection notably compares Chenal de Gravelines and Gravelines Beach. His reading favors movement.

In Gravelines, Seurat achieves extreme economy: a few channel lines, signals and colored dust are enough to build space.