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Running head: SEURAT

Georges Seurat
Jasmine Guanzon
Art 1020
27 October 2016

SEURAT

Georges Seurat was a French painter born on December 2nd 1859 to Antoine Seurat and
Ernestine Faivre they were a middle class family in Paris France. He was the youngest of three, a
fourth sibling was born but died early on. There was an age gap of 13 years between himself and
his older brother Emile and his father worked a job away from home so he was mostly raised by
his mother. By the time Georges was 9 he was the only child living at home so he was raised
mostly by his mother, this allowed him a strong relationship with her. In fact one of his earliest
drawings would be a portrait of his Mother in conte crayon-- one of his favorite mediums to use.
From an early age Georges began to take an interest in Art and was encouraged by his
Uncle to pursue his interest, which is when he began informal lessons with his Uncle who was
himself a textile dealer and amateur artist. Shortly after Georges would begin his formal
education, he was tutored by a French sculptor by the name of Justien Lequien, Justien at the
time was running a school that specialized in both drawing and modeling. Unfortunately he was
much older than Seurat and died quite early on in Seurats education. After his tutelage with
Justein, Georges decided to further his artistic ability by attending an art school by the name of
Ecole Des Beaux Arts (also known as the National School of Fine Arts) under the direction of
Henri Lehmann. Lehmann was a well-known French historical painter and portraitist who had
received a Legion of Honour during his life which was, at the time, the highest French order for
medals and merits.
After spending a year at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts, Georges left, he was no longer able to
stay within the confines of what the school expected of him. He felt constricted and stifled. He
had begun to study books that dealt with the science of color, how colors could be used together
to contrast and to complement. He took a great interest in Michel Chevreul who had first come
up with the Color Wheel and the mixing of two colors to create a secondary color. Seurat spent a

SEURAT

great deal of his time studying color and the theories behind how our eyes perceived things by
the use of certain color combinations. Once he left Ecole, he signed up for service in the Military,
though this would only last about a year before he decided to leave the military and continue to
study under his previous mentor Lehmann. However this venture did not last long, by this time
Georges had strayed quite a bit from his mentor and they no longer saw eye to eye on the future
of art and what Georges believed it had the potential to be. At this time Seurat decided to depart
from the school.
Seurat met a friend while attending Ecole by the name of Edmond Aman Jean, when
Seurat decided to leave the school, he and Jean decided to be roommates and moved to an
apartment together on the island of La Grand Jatte there in France next to the River Seine, both
of these places would eventually play an important role in Georges future in painting and study
of color. He would spend several hours a day on the island sketching and drawing what were
referred to as studies for future paintings, this would include the river, the trees and the many
different societal classes that would visit the island regularly.
Sketching was an important step for Seurat in his artistic process, he wanted to make
sure that by the time he was ready to paint he had everything sketched out before and was done
exactly the way he intended. He favored the Conte crayon, many of his drawings were done in
this medium, he was interested in black and white and felt that it allowed him to sketch drawings
at a more rapid pace (because he felt he was always rushed) and also because he believed the
medium was better for creating shadow and light. Most of his drawings early on and later in his
life would be done in this medium. Shading and light also played an important role in his
paintings, which he preferred to use oils when creating his final compositions.

SEURAT

During this time he submitted his first drawing, which was a portrait hed drawn of his
roommate and friend Aman Jean, it was the first of his pieces to be displayed in a Salon. Salons
were a big deal in that time, they provided exposure to artists, it was important to have your work
accepted by the Salons and it was an aspiration of all artists to have their work put on display.
Through his study of color, the science behind color, and perspective, Seurat began a
technique known as Pointillism or Divisionism, this particular process could be very lengthy. It
would require an individual to not mix colors on the palette beforehand but by use of a single
color at a time, a pure color. It would start with a brushstroke (Divisionism) or through a single
dot (Pointillism) with pure color on the canvas, followed by more of varying colors,
complementing or contrasting. (An art critic would later coin the term Neo-Impressionism to
describe Seurats paintings.) These colors of contrast placed next to each other would create what
appeared to look like nothing more than a bunch of dots or brushstrokes, but when viewed from a
distance, these colors would seem to blend and the viewer would see the bigger picture. Seurat
believed that by allowing the eye to blend the colors, rather than by blending the colors before
that he could keep the color in its purest form and by this be able to evoke emotion and create
harmony in his art.
Seurat was inspired by Impressionists such as Claude Monet and Camilla Pissaro, he felt
that their ability to convey light and atmosphere was something that he wanted to do incorporate
into his own paintings. Although Impressionisms popularity was fading and artists were looking
for something new, Seurat still continued to use some Impressionism in his art, he liked to draw
and paint everyday subject matter, particularly people, trees and water. Ultimately he would
become a founder of the Post- Impression movement.

SEURAT

Seurat would eventually decide to put all of his color theory and research together and
execute his first painting done in this new technique he had spent so much time trying to master.
It would be known as Bathers at Asnieres and was completed in 1884. When Seurat submitted
this composition to the local Impressionists salon, it was rejected. They did not favor Georges
technique and felt that it was no longer representative of Impressionism. Georges did not take the
rejection well, and he like other artists who were trying new techniques and also being rejected
by the local salons, decided to start up a salon of their own, it was known as The Society of
Independent Artists. This allowed those who were being rejected to have a place in the art world
and feel accepted in their new artistic ventures.
One of the artists that Seurat met through this new Salon was Paul Signac, Georges and
Paul would become great friends and Signac greatly respected and accepted Seurats art vision.
He would soon adopt it and his own art began to really mimic Seurats. Paul Signac also
befriended an artist at the time by the name of Vincent Van Gogh, he would share Seurats vision
with Van Gogh which peaked Vincents interest enough to visit a studio showing Seurats work
where Van Gogh was rumored to have taken notice of Seurats Fresh revelation of color.
(Georges Seurat and Neo-Impressionism, 2004) Though Seurats life was short lived, Signac
played a key role in continuing the vision and art movement that Seurat had played such a huge
part in and was able to share this new idea with many other artists.
Once he had been rejected and helped start a new Salon, Georges began work on what
would become his greatest masterpiece, the composition that would be mostly widely known
around the world. Though his fame wouldnt come until after his death. A Sunday Afternoon on
the Island ofLa Grand Jatte took two years to complete it was nearly 7 feet tall and 10 feet wide,
it wasnt widely accepted at the time of its debut, although they were those who truly appreciated

SEURAT

Seurat and his works, it wasnt considered to have put him on the map at that time. But that
didnt stop Georges from progressing, he continued to use Pointillism in his art compositions to
come. During this time he met a woman by the name of Madeleine Knobloch, he kept
Madeleine a secret from his family, although his painting of Young Woman Powdering Herself
was put on display in his studio and his own family members saw it, they did not know at the
time that she was his love interest nor that they had had a child together. She was considered his
mistress and was kept well away from his family due to Seurat staying isolated. The young
would later have two children together, the eldest a boy in 1890 by the name of Pierre-Georges
Seurat, who would eventually pass of an illness at a young age and a second child who was not
born until after Georges Seurat himself had passed away from what was believed to be the same
illness as his eldest child.
Seurat passed away on March 26 1891, the illness he suffered from was never
diagnosed-- he was 31 years old. Though he wasnt at the height of fame during his life, his art
and hard work lived on and was widely accepted and appreciated after his death. His art would
go on to influence many great artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Signac, Henri Matisse and
Camille Pissaro. Though he was young Seurat accomplished many great things in a short amount
of time, he built a foundation for Post-Impressionists that would live on long after he passed.

SEURAT

I believe that what Georges Seurat accomplished in his short life was truly inspirational.
Although he was never a starving artist, he also didnt reach true fame until after his death, his
works were not truly appreciated until he had already passed on. I am astounded by the amount
of time and effort he put into perfecting what he believed was the best technique for art. He not
only practiced relentlessly with his many studies through sketches, drawings and oil paints, but
he researched through many books for the science behind color and how our eyes perceive such
things. Some of my favorite compositions of his are Bathers at Asnieres because of the
lighting that he was able to accomplish through his use of color through brushstrokes, it really
allowed you to feel the warmth almost emanating from the painting, it was very clear that the day
in which he painted was supposed to a nice warm summer day.
The one piece of work I appreciate most would be A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of
La Grande Jatte and this appreciation for me stems most form the tireless hours, days, months
and years he put into this piece this particular composition. Not to mention that the piece itself
measured in at over 6 feet in height and 10 feet in length, that is really an amazing
accomplishment, especially at a time when we really had no true technology, no short cuts to be
had. I believe that if Seurat had lived a longer life span, he would have accomplished many more
astonishing pieces of art, but he still managed to do many great things in his short time on earth.
He was able to really be a true founder of the Post-Impressionist era, although his subject
matter aligned a lot with the Impressionism at the time, through his use of colors and new
approach to the technique and style used, it is easily recognized as his work because he truly
mastered Pointillism and use colors in a way that they never had been used before. Through his
vision of the future of art he also had a great influence on many artists, some who really went on
to be great influences in the art culture.

SEURAT

References

Contributors, T. A. (2016). Georges Seurat French Draftsmen and Painter. Retrieved


from The Art Story: http://www.theartstory.org/artist-seurat-georges.htm
Georges Seurat. (n.d.). Retrieved from Artble:
http://www.artble.com/artists/georges_seurat
Georges Seurat and Neo-Impressionism. (2004, October). Retrieved from The Met:
http://www.metmuseum.org
Georges Seurat Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from biography.com:
http://www.biography.com/people/georges-seurat-9479599
Georges Seurat The Complete Works. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.georgesseurat.org/biography.html
Herbert, R. L., Cachin, F., Distel, A., Stein Alyson, S., & Tinterow, G. (1991). Seurat.
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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