Seurat, Georges
(b. Dec. 2, 1859, Paris--d. March 29, 1891, Paris)
Painter, founder of the 19th-century French school of
Neo-Impressionism whose technique for portraying the play of light
using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colours became known as
Pointillism. Using this techique, he created huge compositions with
tiny, detached strokes of pure colour too small to be distinguished
when looking at the entire work but making his paintings shimmer with
brilliance. Works in this style include
Une Baignade
(1883-84) and
Un dimanche aprХs-midi Ю l'Ile de la Grande Jatte
(1884-86).
[Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994]
Thanks to Danny Birnbaum's
The Life and Art of Georges Seurat and
Carol Gerten-Jackson
for most of this section.
Seurat, Georges
(1859-91). A French painter who was a leader in the
neo-impressionist movement of the late 19th century, Georges Seurat is the
ultimate example of the artist as scientist. He spent his life studying color
theories and the effects of different linear structures. His 500 drawings
alone establish Seurat as a great master, but he will be remembered for his
technique called pointillism, or divisionism, which uses small dots or
strokes of contrasting color to create subtle changes in form.
Georges-Pierre Seurat was born on Dec. 2, 1859, in Paris. He studied at
the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1878 and 1879. His teacher was a disciple of
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.
Young Seurat was strongly influenced by
Rembrandt and
Francisco de Goya.
After a year of military service at Brest, Seurat exhibited his drawing
Aman-Jean
at the official Salon in 1883. Panels from his painting
Bathing at Asnieres
were refused by the Salon the next year, so Seurat and several
other artists founded the Societe des Artistes Independants. His famous
canvas
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte
was the
centerpiece of an exhibition in 1886. By then Seurat was spending his winters
in Paris, drawing and producing one large painting each year, and his summers
on France's northern coast. In his short life Seurat produced seven
monumental paintings, 60 smaller ones, drawings, and sketchbooks. He kept his
private life very secret, and not until his sudden death in Paris on March
29, 1891, did his friends learn of his mistress, who was the model for his
painting
Young Woman Holding a Powder Puff.
-
Vase of Flowers
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Une Baignade, AsniХres
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Un dimanche aprХs-midi Ю l'Ile de la Grande Jatte
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View of Fort Samson, Grandcamp
1885 (130 Kb); Oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 32 in;
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg;
Formerly Collection of Bernhard Koehler, Berlin
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Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp
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EntrИe du port de Honfleur
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The Lighthouse at Honfleur
1886 (210 Kb); Oil on canvas, 66.7 x 81.9 cm (26 1/4 x 32 1/4 in);
The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
-
The Models (large version)
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Gray Weather, Grande Jatte
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The Side Show
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Le chahut
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Young Woman Powdering Herself
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Le port de Gravelines
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The Circus
© 22 Nov 1995,
Nicolas Pioch -
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