Sérusier's Boys on a river bank: a technical examination
Summary

Two distinct paint layers exist in Boys on a river bank. The lower layer certainly predates 1906, the date inscribed, with the signature, in the lower right-hand corner of the work.

The approach to colour in this underlayer also appears to coincide with Sérusier's colour theories of the early 1890s, but not with those dating from after the mid-1890s; the initial composition of the painting may therefore date from the earlier period. The colours in the later layer of the composition appear to relate to Sérusier's theories of the mid to late 1890s.

Additionally, the physical characteristics of the signature suggest the possibility that the upper layer was painted earlier than the signature. This in turn raises the question of when the later layer might have been laid down. It could have been applied prior to 1906, but how much earlier?

And what is the significance of the similarities between Sérusier's colours - and indeed his whole composition - and Gauguin's treatment of a comparable subject in 1888? If we accept that Sérusier's practice was consistent with his colour theories, the upper layer may date from as early as 1896 - or perhaps from even earlier if the artist wrote of his theories after developing them in his painting practice. The visual links with Gauguin's Children wrestling of 1888 open the possibility that Sérusier's work was painted around this time, though this hypothesis does not account for the fact that his use of a brighter palette is generally held to date from the mid-1890s.

 

Paul SÉRUSIER
French 1864–1927
Boys on a river bank 1906
oil on canvas
61.0 x 73.2 cm
Felton Bequest 1948
1899-4