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“Georges Seurat was born in Paris in December of 1859.  A great deal regarding his personal life is unknown, although it is known that he studied as a student of Justin Lequien, a sculptor.  Later, in 1878, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed a great appreciation for the Classical and Renaissance masterpieces that are emphasized there as a traditional and prestigious form of training in art.

Though the oil paintings of Seurat were a clear departure from the Classical and Renaissance pieces that he admired, he is still often considered an academic painter based on the theory and scientific academic study behind the techniques of his paintings, particularly in the field of color theory and also philosophy. He is also considered a founding artist of the neo-impressionist movement. What came to be characteristic about his artwork was his use of divisionism, a practice of applying pigment to the canvas in individual areas so that the colors would blend in the eye of the viewer, rather than entirely upon the canvas.  This practice was a theory that Seurat studied during his early period during which he frequently read scientific treatises in regards to color theory.  Eventually Seurat came to be known for his use of this technique, which was evident in all of his most significant paintings.  The technique gradually came to be known as Pointillism when referred to in the context of art and its creation.

Due to the slow process and techniques used (in addition to the large scale of many of his paintings), he completed relatively few major paintings over the course of his artistic career.  The first major piece that received attention for its style was titled A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and took an entire two years to complete due to its large ten foot dimensions.  The subject and composition appear to be very Impressionistic in nature and many art lovers may be reminded of Monet’s Madame Monet and Her Son by the large figure of a woman in the foreground of a green park area as well as the general look and color scheme of the painting.  Unlike Impressionism, the works of Seurat were not painted en plein air as many Impressionists practiced, but rather in a studio working with painstaking care and careful attention, not the fast brush strokes of other artists.  The entire aim was to exhibit the gains of Pointillism and color theory, whereas his contemporary Impressionists struggled to capture one fleeting moment within their paintings.  When observing Seurat’s paintings in this light, it becomes obvious that his canvases seem more grounded and stable that the mere impressions that are delivered by Impressionist art.

Some of Seurat’s other famous paintings are titled: Bathers at Asnières, Le Chalut, Le Parade, Le Cirque (unfinished), Les Poseurs of 1887, and a series of works of Honfleur Harbor.”