Georges Seurat

George Seurat- A Pointillist Painter

Introduction

George Seurat was born on December 2nd, 1859 Paris, France. Seurat's Father was withdrawn and often neglected his family, but his mother was affectionate and warmed his childhood. Seurat grew to be a serious young man. Behind his reserved demeanor was an intense and secretive artist. 

Early life and works

Seurat was trained classically and spent his time in the museums and libraries throughout Paris. He was also an avid reader. George spent two years mastering the art of monochrome drawing, discovering all George could do with just one color. When Seurat was twenty, he visited the fourth impressionist exhibit. In the summer of 1884, Seurat began working on one of his most ambitious projects. Seurat sought to create distinct moments that were lasting and unchanging.

Famous artworks

Seurat's first major canvas, the Bathers was his first attempt at reconciling classicism with modern. It was a quasi-scientific approach to color and form, depicting an area on the Seine near Paris. 

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte was an outstanding work in the eighth and last Impressionist exhibition in 1884. It was inspired by his studies on color theory and optics and took two years to complete. 

When exhibiting La Grande at the eighth impressionist exhibit in 1886, Seurat's technique bought him international attention, but he guarded the details of his technique. Painted with many tiny dots of colorful paint when viewed from a distance, the dots are blended optically in the viewer's eye rather than the painter's brush. Seurat helped develop this technique became known as 'pointillism.' The La Seine à la Grande-Jatte, the artist returned to the site of Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in 1888.

Some other famous and important works of George Seurat are Young Woman Powdering Herself, Circus Sideshow, and The Circus.

His techniques were all based on his scientific theories; under his theories, he used the natural laws of colors and lines to create harmony and emotion in art.

Death

Seurat died suddenly in Paris in 1891 at the young age of 31. He will be forever known for his breakthrough in art by his studies into science.