Maximilien Luce - La boucle de la Seine pres d'Herblay (The Loop of the Seine near Herblay) - 2014.21.1 - Reading Public Museum

Maximilien Luce (1858-1941) was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Neo-Impressionist movement. He was born in Paris and began his artistic training at the Académie Suisse in 1876, where he met fellow artists such as Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. Luce's early work was influenced by the Impressionists, but he later adopted the Neo-Impressionist technique of pointillism, which used small dots of colour to create a sense of light and movement. He also became interested in social and political issues, and many of his paintings depict working class life and labour struggles. Luce was a prolific artist, producing hundreds of paintings, drawings and prints throughout his career. He exhibited regularly at the Salon des Indépendants and other exhibitions, and his work was well received by critics and collectors. Today, Luce is considered one of the most important Neo-Impressionist artists and his work is represented in major museums around the world.