SEURAT

(1859-1891, French)

Georges Seurat ("suh RAH") was a gifted young painter who applied himself early to the study of art. While still a teenager, he read about and experimented with various painting methods and color theories. He was especially interested in the visual effects achieved by placing different colors side by side on a painting surface. Seurat used what he had learned about color to develop a unique style of painting called pointillism. Instead of using blended brushstrokes in the manner of academic or traditional artists, Seurat applied small dots of color, placed very close together, to his canvases. When viewed from several feet away these dots seemed to blend, forming new colors. For example, many dots of yellows, blues, and greens, when viewed from a distance, could appear as a field of yellow-green grass.

Seurat is sometimes grouped with the "Impressionists" (like Monet and Renoir) and the "Post-Impressionists" (like Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh) because he, too, worked in brilliant colors and drew his subjects from everyday life. But Seurat did not follow their preference for loose, rapid brushstrokes applied directly to the canvas. Although Seurat's paintings appear to be casual "snapshots" of harbors and river banks, circus performers and Parisians at leisure, we know from his many sketches and oil studies that his final canvases were painstakingly composed in every detail. Seurat liked to show the volume and form of his subjects, so he kept his painted edges clear and crisp even though he painted with dots instead of using outlines. His pointillist technique was very time-consuming, and few artists chose to copy his style.

Seurat's most famous painting is Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte ("grahnd jot"), a huge painting (70 square feet) now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. First exhibited in the 8th Impressionist exhibition in 1886, "La Grande Jatte" attracted a lot of attention because of its size, unusual technique, and subject matter. It shows dozens of people relaxing at a popular park on an island in the Seine River near Paris. Men, women, and children are engaged in fishing, rowing, sailing, strolling, chatting, or simply gazing at the river as they enjoy a pleasant afternoon. In the right foreground we see a well-dressed couple promenading with their pets. The woman is stylishly attired in a dress with a bustle, and she carries a parasol to protect her fair skin from the sun. As we examine the background, we see a skipping girl, a courting couple, men in uniform, and many people sunning themselves or lounging under shady trees. Despite the fact that this is a rather crowded tableau, the people seem to be hardly aware of each other. They also seem strangely static, almost like sculptures rather than moving figures. Every year, thousands of visitors to the Art Institute enjoy the idealized harmony of Seurat's masterpiece.

Seurat was a private person who kept to himself. Few details are known about his personal life. His brilliant career was cut tragically short when he died of diphtheria at age 31. He left behind relatively few works of art, and each is considered priceless today.