The Beach of Les Grands Sables at Le Pouldu

1890

Paul Sérusier (French, 1864–1927)

In the summer of 1890, Paul Sérusier traveled to the small seaside village of Le Pouldu in Brittany in northwestern France. The artist was struck by the area’s dramatic, untamed landscape, particularly its beaches’ sweeping dunes and wind-bent trees, which dominate this picture. He emphasized the power of nature by including a tiny human figure among the dunes. Seeking to convey the sensations of the environment without being overly representational, Sérusier composed the picture with fields of pure, bold color and strong lines. This style, called synthetism, was also championed by Paul Gauguin.

Status: On View, Gallery 241
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist: Paul Sérusier
Title: The Beach of Les Grands Sables at Le Pouldu
Place: France (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1890
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Signed lower left: P. Serusier
Dimensions: 60 × 70 cm (23 5/8 × 27 9/16 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior gift of Mrs. Clive Runnells
Reference Number: 2011.307
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/212300/manifest.json

Marcel Guicheteau, Paul Sérusier (Paris: Editions Side, 1976), p. 202, 203, no. 35 (ill.).
“Les ventes prochaines,” La Gazette de L’Hôtel Drouot, April 24, 1981, p. 45 (ill.).
“Les ventes futures,” La Gazette de L’Hôtel Drouot, May 1, 1981, p. 38.
“308,00F pour un Sérusier à la salle des ventes,” Le Télégramme de Brest, May 4, 1981, p. 5, 8, 13.
“Sérusier à l’honneur,” La Gazette de L’Hôtel Drouot, May 8, 1981, p. 56.
Antoine Terrasse, Pont-Aven, l’Ecole buissonnière (Paris: Découvertes Gallimard Peinture, 1992), p. 80–81 (color ill.), 154.
Caroline Boyle-Turner, Sérusier et la Bretagne (Douarnenez : Le Chasse-Marée/ArMen, 1995), p. 44–46 (color ill.).
Musée de Pont-Aven, Petite encyclopédie des peintres de Bretagne: Paul Sérusier (Morlaix: Studio T, 1996), p. 15 (color ill.).
Léo Kerlo and Jacqueline Duroc, Peintres des Côtes de Bretagne: De Quimper à Concarneau, de Pont-Aven à l’anse du Pouldu (Douarnez: Chasse-Marée, 2006), p. 201 (color ill.).

Paris, Musée Galliera, Paul Sérusier, May 2–31, 1947, cat. 49.
Pont-Aven, Musée de Pont-Aven, Paul Sérusier et la Bretagne, June 30–September 30, 1991, p. 28, cat. 4 (color ill.).
Tokyo, Bunkamura Museum of Art, Gauguin et I’Ecole de Pont-Aven, April 10–May 30, 1993; traveled to Kyoto, National Museum of Modern Art, June 8–July 18, 1993; Hokkaido, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, July 25–August 29, 1993; Mie, Prefectural Art Museum, September 4–October 3, 1993; Koriyama, Koriyama City Museum of Art, October 9–November 28, 1993, p. 76, cat. 57 (color ill.).
Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School, May 13–July 24, 1994, p. 179, cat. 109 (color ill.), 180.
Indianapolis, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Gauguin and the School of Pont-Aven, September 8–October 23, 1994; traveled to Baltimore, The Walters Art Gallery, November 20, 1994–January 15, 1995; Montreal, The Montreal Museum of Fine Art, February 9–mid-April 1995; Memphis, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, May 6–early July 1995; San Diego, San Diego Museum of Art, July 8–October 15, 1995; Portland, Portland Museum of Fine Arts, November 19, 1995–January 14, 1996; Boston, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 26–September 16, 1996; Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, October 15, 1996–January 14, 1997, p. 141, cat. 109 (color ill.).

Collection of the artist’s wife Marguerite Sérusier (d. 1950); bequeathed to Paule-Henriette Boutaric, Paris; sold, Hôtel des Ventes, Brest, May 3, 1981, to Samuel Josefowitz, Geneva and New York.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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