1. Georges Suerat ( )

2. Early Life Born December 2, 1859 in Paris to a well-to-do family
He first studied sculpture, then went on to the Ecole des Beaux Arts where he trained in traditional methods of drawing by copying the works of the Old Masters (an artist of skill who worked in Europe before 1800)
In 1879, his schooling ended when he left to complete a year of military service

3. Early Career
Monochrome example
After returning to Paris, Seurat spent two years immersing himself in the art of monchrome painting (art work in one color or values of one color)
Seurat also studied the Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix ( ), particularly his use of color
Delacroix painting

4. A New Direction
In 1883, Seurat worked on his first major painting, Bathers at Asnieres, showing a relaxing scene on the Seine river. Rejected by the Salon, Seurat and some other artists, including Paul Signac, on whom he would have a major influence, decided to form their own group, the Society of Independent Artists.
Bathers at Asnieres shows the influence of
Impressionism with its color and tone, yet
Suerat’s classical training is also evident in the
sculptural figures and the fact that he made
many sketches before beginning to paint.
Impressionistic works are completed by
painting what is seen in the moment.

5. Breakthrough
In 1884, Seurat would spend the next two years working on what would become his masterpiece. For this 10 foot wide painting, he completed about 60 studies. It depicts a leisure scene on the Seine river with all classes and ages of people enjoying their Sunday.
Seurat employed the technique of pointillism, in which the artist paints tiny dots of color next to one another, as opposed to blending the paints before applying them to the canvas. This way, the viewer’s eyes blend the colors optically.
Seurat, Study for Sunday in the Park

6. Georges Suerat, Sunday in the Park, or Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte ( ) Art Institute, Chicago

7. Why is Seurat so Important?
Seurat was interested in the science behind painting. He developed a style called Divisionism or Pointillism, in which dots of pure color are dabbed onto a canvas. The eye blends them when viewed from a distance, known as optical mixing.
Example of a pointillistic painting
Detail of Sunday in the Park

8. Seurat
painting
Although Seurat was anti-Impressionism, he borrowed some key concepts from the art movement, such as depicting modern subjects and scenes of leisure. He differed by trying to capture all the colors involved to make an image.
Impressionistic painting by Monet

9. Although Seurat died suddenly at age 31,
his influence lives on in other artists and art movements. The artist Paul Signac ( ) clearly demonstrated the effect of Seurat in his paintings.
Paul Signac painting Picasso cubist painting
Many in the art world view Seurat as the forefather of the Cubist movement, which began in 1911, due to the flat, linear structures in his paintings.

11. Now it is your turn!
First choose a piece of the “Sunday in the Park” painting.
Take a rectangular piece of paper. Write your name and the number of the piece on the back of the paper.
Use a pencil to draw an outline of the shapes from your painting piece onto the paper.
Use markers to draw dots on your paper to emulate the painting. Remember that dots visually blend together so look closely at your picture and notice all the different colors.
When you are finished with your piece of the painting, give it to the Art Discovery teacher to piece together with the rest of the class’s work.
Now your class has its very own Suerat painting!