A CLOSER LOOK
Cross painted this oil-on-canvas beach scene in 1891–92, soon after moving to Cabasson, a hamlet on the Côte d’Azur in southeastern France. The Art Institute connects the move to his rheumatoid arthritis and describes it as a turning point in his work.
The surface uses divided brushwork: small dashes and dots of color remain visibly separate. Cross also organized gradual shifts in tone. Viewers perceive those placed marks together as light, water, shore, and heat without the paint losing its patterned character.
The museum places this method within “scientific Impressionism,” now commonly discussed as Neo-Impressionism. Cross’s application was methodical. The technique let color relationships carry the sensation of the Mediterranean setting across a canvas measuring 65.3 by 92.3 centimetres.
The recorded ownership begins with Baron Eberhard von Bodenhausen-Degener and later includes dealer Martin Fabiani, Fine Arts Associates, Mrs. Vincent Astor, and other private collections. The Art Institute purchased the painting from Richard L. Feigen and Co. in 1983. Its source record explains Cross’s move and technique but does not identify the beachgoers, so their individual stories remain unknown.
