Maximilien Luce (French, 1858-1941)
Méricourt, Les Baigneurs, circa 1935

signed 'Luce' (lower left)
oil on canvas

Dimensions: 38.2 x 55.2 cm. (15 x 21 3/4 in.)

Private Collection, London

Maximilien Luce was a French Neo-Impressionist painter known for his vivid use of colour and Divisionist technique, often applied to scenes of everyday life. In several works, he depicted people swimming capturing leisure moments with the same sensitivity and energy he brought to industrial and urban subjects. These swimming scenes, filled with dappled sunlight and rhythmic brushstrokes, reflect his fascination with light, movement, and the human figure in natural settings. Luce was closely associated with artists such as Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat, and Paul Signac, exhibiting with them and sharing their interest in social themes and scientific approaches to colour. His swimming scenes, though less numerous, offer a striking contrast to his more sombre depictions of labour, revealing a broader vision of humanity in both toil and repose.