Georges Seurat

Neo-Impressionist painter George Pierre-Seurat was born in Paris on December 2, 1859 to an upper class family. He studied at Ecole des Beaux- Arts in 1878-1879 and at that time was strongly influenced by the work of Goya and Rembrandt. Seurat's studiously intellectual outlook had close affinities with the philosophy of his time, known as Positivism, which supposed that reality could be analysed solely by the aid of precise scientific laws. Seurat believed there are specific formulas that could be used to translate light, color and even emotional moods onto a canvas. He developed a system called Pointilism where two colors placed side by side and viewed from a distance will optically produce a third color. Each aspect of Seurat's mural-size compositions were planned in meticulous detail. In perhaps his most famous painting, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" his composition is of the most taut and convincing balance. In response to Seurat's painting, "The Models" Roger Fry wrote, "one cannot move a button or a ribbon without disaster to this amazingly complete and close knit system." Seurat was a private as well as disciplined man. It was not until his death on March 29, 1891 that the public learned of his mistress who was his model. In his short life Georges Seurat produced 500 drawings and paintings including 7 monumental canvases and 60 smaller ones. He had many followers but aside from Paul Signac was unmatched in his effect on the art of the 20th Century.

Georges Seurat Images:
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,1884-86
Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte