Seurat
Achievements: Invented pointillist painting technique
Born: December 2, 1859; Paris, France
Died: March 29, 1891; Paris, France (Aged 32)
Field & Discipline: Art; Painter
Education: Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Major Work:
“The Bathers, Asnieres” (1883-84)
“Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” (1884-6)
Life & Times:
When he was twenty-three, Seurat entered the much more prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he was taught by an ex-pupil of [a disciple of] Ingres*. Seurat remained a disciple of Ingres for some years and his early figure drawings show this influence. He was read books on painting techniques and optics, among which was a treatise on color contrast and the principles of harmony by the eminent chemist [learned theory from] *.Chevreul
On his return from military service in 1780 he moved to a studio on the rue de Chabrol and began to focus on drawing. In 1883 he exhibited at the annual Paris salon for the first time with a drawing of a friend. Seurat had left out light and color in these drawings, but at the same time had begun to study the paintings of [studied work of] Delacroix* whose work was remarkable for its free use of color. In Delacroix, Seurat found confirmation of the scientific theories on color and optics which interested him.
In Chevreul’s law of simultaneous contrast of colors, he found a basis for his own experiments in the use of color. Seurat’s experiments led him to the development of the technique associated with his name called pointillism. He painted each element in a painting separately, replacing the irregular spontaneous brush strokes of the impressionists with meticulously placed small dots of pure color. The breakdown of color into separate components in order to produce a new visual experience later influenced the work of many including [influenced] Matisse* and [influenced] Debussy*.
He began his first great painting, “Bathers, Asnieres” in 1883. When the painting was presented to the Salon in 1884 it was rejected by the jury. Luckily for Seurat, a number of innovative artists had got tired of being rejected by the conservative art establishment. They were unwilling to have their work condemned to oblivion and in 1884 they organized their own Salon, the Salon des Artistes Independants. Seurat’s work was put up the canteen and occasioned no more than a passing interest but it did intrigue a fellow exhibitor, [influenced] Signac*. Signac, who went to see Chevreul, adopted pointillism and after Seurat’s death became its chief exponent. Seurat became close friends with Seurat and introduced him to [knew] Pissarro* who also, more briefly, employed the technique of pointillism.
Seurat was already planning his second great painting, “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. Almost one hundred years later, this painting inspired the American composer[influenced] Sondheim* to write his musical, “ Sunday in the Park with George”. La Grande Jatte was a popular bathing place on the bank of the Seine which Seurat and his friends often visited. The painting was is about ten feet wide and six foot high and in it around forty people are depicted in a series of vignettes based on Seurat’s many observations of the scene. People are strolling, standing or sitting, playing a musical instrument, exercising a dog, conversing, sleeping, embracing, watching children play. In the background are the boats on the river.
The composition is organized in vertical and horizontal planes, and Seurat’s division of color was not in this case executed in the dots of the pointillist but with “croquetons”, quick short strokes. He used exclusively the colors on the chromatic disk produced by Chevreulin which the primary colors are related to one another by intermediate colors in a circular system (blue goes through blue-violet, violet, violet-red, red, red-orange etc to blue again).
Although the painting is full of human interest and shows an appreciation of the humorous and eccentric, Seurat was primarily fascinated by the scientific progress. “La Grande Jatte’ was exhibited in 1886 at an Impressionist Group Show where it caused great controversy and much derision. The art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, at the insistence of Pissarro, included works by Seurat and Signac in his New York exhibition. The American critics were more open-minded and the exhibition was a “succes d’estime.”
Seurat spent the summer of 1886 at Honfleur where he painted several seascapes. [influenced] van Gogh* experimented briefly with pointillisme and [influenced] Gaugin* tried the execution but did not observe the laws of contrasting colors.
Among the larger paintings Seurat executed at this time were “The Models” (1886), “The Chahut” (1889-91), “The Parade” (1889) and “The Circus” (1890-91). Seurat was becoming established as a major influence in artistic circles. In 1890 he was featured in an issue of the popular “Hommes d’Aujourdhi” (“Men of Today”) series, in an issue which reviewed his life and reported on his theories, and he was acknowledged by painters and writers in his circle as the most important influence for the future of art.
In the spring of 1891, he worked every day on the hanging committee of the exhibition of the Independants in Paris. He exhausted himself and succumbed to an infected sore throat from which he died a few days after the exhibition opened.
Extra Connections: His family and that of [hometown link with] Appert* lived in the same village.
He was influenced by the work of [influenced by] Charles Henry*.
Assessment: He introduced the basic style of Impressonism.
Oneliner: George Seurat, the painter who introduced impressionism
Bibliography:
- Broude, Norma, ed.,Seurat in Perspective, Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey, 1978.
- Rewald, John,Seurat, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, 1990.
Language: French
Father:: Father: Antoine-Chrisostome Seurat
Mother: Ernestine Faivre
Siblings: 1 brother: Emile; 1 sister: Marie-Berthe
Spouse: None
Children: 1 son: Pierre-Georges-Seurat (died in infancy)