Ambroise Vollard, Paris (possibly)
Paul Signac, Paris (acquired by 1898)
Berthe Paul Signac, Paris (by descent from the above)
Ginette Signac, Paris (by descent from the above)
Sam Salz, New York
Acquired from the above on December 26, 1952

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Rétrospective Georges Seurat, 1908-09, no. 19
New York, Wildenstein & Co., Seurat and his Friends, 1953, no. 2
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seurat: Drawings and Oil Sketches from New York Collections, 1977, no. 45
Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais & New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Georges Seurat 1859-1891, 1991-92, no. 90, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Paul Signac, "What Neo-Impressionism Means," in Art News, LII, no. 8, December 1953, illustrated p. 56
John Rewald, "Extraits du journal inédit de Paul Signac, III, 1898-1899," in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, XLII, July-August 1953, fig. 5, illustrated p. 35
Henri Dorra & John Rewald, Seurat: L'oeuvre peint, biographie et catalogue crititque, Paris, 1959, no. 68, illustrated p. 65
César M. de Hauke, Seurat et son oeuvre, vol. I, Paris, 1961, no. 53, illustrated p. 29
Pierre Courthion, Seurat, New York, 1968, illustrated in color p. 72
Fiorella Minervino, L'Opera completa di Seurat, Milan, 1972, no. 60, illustrated p. 95
André Parinaud, Les Peintres et leur École: Barbizon, les origines de l'Impressionnisme, Paris, 1994, illustrated in color p. 130

Oil on cradled panel. There is nice texture to the surface with very minor abrasion to the extreme perimeter. Colors are lush and bright. Under UV light: scattered minor nailhead-sized spots and strokes are visible, notable to the sky, along the path and in the grass at lower right. Certain pigments fluoresce though a varnish is difficult to read through. Overall the work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

One of several landscapes from around 1883 depicting the Paris outskirts, this lively canvas is especially notable for its Impressionist palette in combination with impulsive and irregular brushstrokes, signaling the transition in his oeuvre from Impressionism toward the Post-Impressionism and Pointillism of his most famous paintings.

Painted at a time when Impressionists such as Monet, Pissarro and Renoir were concentrating on nuances of color and searching for alternatives to the more established methods of the 1870s, Au bord du village demonstrates that Seurat had already set a course that would lead him rapidly away from the more subjective aspects of the Impressionist approach to a purer form of visual language. The subtle but careful hatchwork of brushstrokes, especially evident in the foreground a꧅t right, reveal the early manifestation of the Pointillist technique which Seurat would fully develop over the next two years.

With his extraordinary eye for form and an understanding of the relationship between color and light, Seurat could render an entire scene with a minimum of details. He painted many images of rural life, often featuring farmers and fishermen hard at work in fields or on river banks, and the lack of human subject in this particular landscape leads the viewer to search for one: "The hidden subjects in Seurat's work challenge the spectator's own imaginative empathy... Since we cannot penetrate to the revealed but distant scene, we must search the forms it has taken for clues to fill with meaning" (Erich Franz & Bernd Growe, Georges Seurat, Drawings, Boston, 1984, p. 61).