Georges Seurat [The Black Bow (Le Noeud Noir)] c. 1882

on

 
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay) / Gérard Blot

◧ Artist: Georges Seurat (1859-1891) 
◧ Country: France
◧ Title: [The Black Bow (Le Noeud Noir)]      
◧ Medium: Conte Crayon on laid paper
◧ Painting Size: 31.8 x 25 cm (12.20" x 9.84")
 
◧ Museum: Musée d’Orsay, Paris
(Click to visit the museum)
◧ Country of Stamp Issue: France
◧ Date of Issue: April 13, 1991
◧ Face Value: 5 Francs

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[The Black Bow] belongs to a series of female silhouettes against a pale or greyish background, dated about 1882. This figure, obviously the most accomplished of the set, is an early version of the elegant ladies strolling on the riverbank in [A Sunday on La Grande Jatte] (1884).

1884 [A Sunday on La Grande Jatte] The Art Institute of Chicago
The young woman on [The Black Bow] seems dreamy, lost in thought. She does not have the hieratic pose of the other characters in the series. Instead, a subtle play of curves gives a gentle, flowing look to this apparently fragile body emerging from the shadow. But, in the end, it is the bow which commands the drawing. Its jagged outline, unlike the rest of her costume, and its deep black irresistibly draw the spectator's eye.
Sharply outlined against a halo of light, this bow becomes the focal point of the entire composition.   (excerpt from Musée d'Orsay, Paris)

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