Photograph of Georges Seurat, 1888.
Georges Pierre Seurat (December 2, 1859 – March 29, 1891) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and draftsman. He is noted for his innovative use of drawing media and for creating the technique of painting known as Pointillism. His large-scale painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–1886) changed the direction of modern art by starting the art movement known as Neo-impressionism.
La Grande Jatte is one of the icons of late 19th-century painting. This painting is over six feet nine inches in height and is ten feet in length! The painting shows people strolling through the park, laying in the grass, and watching boats out on the water. There is even a little monkey! Can you find it? What other things can you see in his painting?
Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. 1884-1886. Oil on canvas. (81.7 × 121.3 in).
Seurat’s masterpiece took two years to paint and the island of La Grande Jatte became his inspiration for many more of his paintings. He is perhaps most famous because of the tiny dot-like brushstrokes he used to fill the canvas. These tiny dots helped create the illusion of light and color. Seurat called his new technique “Divisionism,” but it is more widely known today as “Pointillism.”
Georges Seurat grew up in Paris, France. Georges spent most of his childhood there living with his mother, brother Emile, and his sister Marie-Berthe. George started drawing at a young age in school. Later, when he was sixteen, he took a course from a sculptor. After that he learned about painting at the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts). He learned how to paint from the artist Henri Lehmann, who was greatly influenced by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres who was one of France’s most famous portrait artists. George became fascinated with the relationship between line, image and aesthetics (study of art, culture and nature) .
In 1879, after spending a year in the military, Seurat shared a studio with the another painter, Edmond-Francois Aman-Jean. In 1883, Seurat displayed portraits of his new friend Edmond and his mother at the official Salon, an art exhibit put on once a year by the government. That same year, Seuart began working on his first large scale painting, Bathers at Asnières. In 1884, he showed his artwork with the Société des Artistes Indépendants (Society of Independent Artists). When Seurat displayed La Grande Jatte an Impressionist group show in 1886, his new technique Pointillism generated a lot of buzz.
Georges Seurat, Le Cirque. 1891. Oil on canvas. 185 × 152 cm (72.8 × 59.8 in)
In 1890, Seurat and his companion, Madeline Knobloch had a baby boy. While organizing an exhibition of paintings for the eighth Society of Independent Artists, Seurat displayed what would be his last painting, Le Cirque. Seurat was working so hard that he became exhausted, catching a sickness called infectious angina. Seurat died on March 29, 1891 just before the exhibition ended. Sadly, Seurat’s year old baby boy also contracted the disease and died just a few weeks after his father.
Georges Seurat’s short life didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most famous artists of all time. His paintings and the theories behind his work have made a great impact on the history of art. He took color and light, two important parts of Impressionism, to the next level. His process of Divisionism, became known as Pointillism, a style using thousands of colorful dots that brought his paintings to life, flickering with light and outstanding colors.
Create your own Neo-impressionist painting using Seurat’s Pointillist technique.
- Sketch out your idea on a small 5×7 piece of paper. Don’t forget your name and code!
- Paint it in using only dots. Use the end of a small paint brush or q-tips.
- Remember to use visual color mixing to create new colors.
Extensions:
Digital Art: Create your own digital Neo-impressionist artwork using Pointillator. (Shockwave required)
Science: Learn more about the science of the Light Spectrum.