Art 129-LS1
J. Stevenson
May 14, 2011
The Skeptical Science of Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat was born on December 2, 1859 in the fast growing city of Paris, France. Georges Seurat was the “non-conformist” of his day; it was he who decided to move away from Impressionism, and find his own style of expressing his art. Seurat’s art career only is crammed in just a dozen years, but the beautiful artwork he has created goes to show that he is a true master of his time (Courthion, 9). In the early years of Seurat’s life, he grew up at 100, Boulevard Magenta in Paris. His father, Antoine-Chrisostôme Seurat was an indifferent man from Champagne, and worked as a property owner. Seurat’s mother, Ernestine Faivre, was a stay …show more content…
at home mom who raised their children. Georges Seurat also had two siblings: a brother named Émile and a sister, Marie-Berthe. Growing older brought Seurat the realization that he had a great talent for drawing. Seurat wanted to pursue his talent, so he decided to take drawing lessons from sculptor, Justin Lequin, who worked at a municipal school for drawing. At this drawing school, Seurat meets Edmond Aman-Jean and Ernest Laurent and becomes close friends, and eventually rent a studio together in the Rue de l’arbaléte. One year later in 1878, Georges Seurat was admitted to a pristine school called École des Beaux Arts. If Georges Seurat had spare time and spare money to spend on himself, he would rather purchase a new book and read it for enjoyment rather than buying food or some other gluttonous want (Renoir Fine Art Inc 3). After one year of education at École des Beaux Arts, Seurat becomes enlisted in the military in Brest, France. When he was enlisted, he would spend his free time sketching boats, docks, and the sea (Webcanvas 4). When Seurat returned home to Paris, he decided to take his art career to the next step. Seurat decided to get himself a new abode quite close to his mother’s home actually; his address being 19, Rue de Chabrol. After settling himself in his new home, Georges Seurat spent the year of 1883 on his first major oil on canvas, Bathing at Asnieres, which was rejected by the Paris salon in 1884. Later in the year, Bathing at Asnieres was exhibited by the newly formed group, des Artistes Indépendants. Also, in the year of 1884, Georges Seurat meets another young painter, Paul Signac. Paul Signal is inspired by Seurat’s style of painting, and even attempts to paint using the technique of Pointillism himself. This idea was new to people, and many disagreed with the liking of George Seurat’s paintings which include Pointillism. However, Georges Seurat showed all of the negative Impressionists what magnificence pointillism paintings could portray. According to Pierre Courthion, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jette was portrayed to Paris at the end of winter in 1885 and Seurat’s friend Paul Signac introduced the painting to Monet (Courtion 46). Over the next several years, Georges Seurat paints several other paintings which credit him to being the father of Pointillism. In the year of 1890, Georges Seurat’s girlfriend, Madeleine Knoblock, gives birth to Pierre-Georges Seurat at the age of 22. At this time in Georges Seurat’s life, his art career is showing more signs of growth than ever before. Georges Seurat soon finishes the painting, Young Woman Powering Herself, which is believed to be the first portrait of Madeleine Knoblock. Before Georges Seurat finished his next painting, The Circus, he unexpectedly dies and the age of 31 due to a fatal virus of meningitis. Ironically, just two days before his death on March 29, 1891, Georges Seurat first introduced his family to his mother. Georges Pierre Seurat was buried on March 31st at cemetery Père-Lachaise in his family’s gravesite. Georges Pierre Seurat was one of the first painters to search for a new style.
His search ended up discovering the art of Pointillism, a painting style which shows colors the way they really are. He strived for something new as he once said, “Originality depends only on the character of the drawing and the vision peculiar to each artist.”Colors blend in so harmoniously, and they do not mix and get dulled with each other. For a while, people would argue over Seurat’s style; some people thought of Pointillism as an effortless work of art, and other art enthusiasts believed George Seurat could capture harmony and emotion the same way one will capture it with music. Heilbrunn once quoted “Neo-Impressionists came to believe that separate touches of interwoven pigments result in a greater vibrancy of color in the observer’s eye than is achieved by the conventional mixing of pigments on a pallet.” Seurat created over 500 pieces of artwork, and the few which he is famous for use the technique known as Pointillism. George Seurat’s powerful presence as the leader of Neo-Impressionism resonated among artist for decades to come. Paul Signac quotes on Georges Seurat …show more content…
style: He surveyed the scene and has made these very important contributions: his black and white, his harmony of lines, his composition, his contrast of harmony with color, even his frames. What more can you as of a painter? (Lynley 6)
Georges Seurat’s powerful presence as the leader of Neo-Impressionism resonated among artist for decades to come. Georges Seurat’s pointillism style of paintings inspired many people to not only see the beauty of the painting, but also the science of how the colors and setup of his paints show much more than just an image. According to Georges Seurat himself, “Some say they see poetry in my paintings; I only see science.”
Georges Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jette,” shows such a busy and yet relaxed day on the Seine riverfront. It appears as if everyone in this painting is enjoying themselves just like anyone should walking or spending time around the Seine riverside in Paris. Many earthly tones exist on Seurat’s oil on canvas; lots of greens, blues, and browns make up the majority of the painting. The green trees represent growth and life, and the blue Seine gives off a sense of renewal and rebirth. The Seine represents transportation of life in general because the city of Paris is located off the riverside. Colors are brighter in the center of the painting horizontally; this represents the mesh of people and all of the gatherings of life in one environment. Most lines in the painting are vertical; however, the horizontal line in the middle breaks this entire painting up by changing only a shade of color. Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jette just gives off a feeling for a want of a beautiful summer day. Georges Seurat painted this painting during the winter of 1884-1885. He must have been craving the warm sunshine in the beautiful city of Paris which he portrays in this painting. Georges Seurat even quotes, “Under a blazing mid-afternoon summer sky, we see the Seine flooded with sunshine…people are strolling, others are sitting or stretched out lazily on the bluish grass.” Nobody really knows what Georges Seurat was thinking when he painted this painting, but everyone seemed to appreciate the uniqueness of this one of a kind painting which uses the technique of Pointillism. Arsène Alexandre once said, “Everything was so new to this immense painting--the conception was bold and the technique one that nobody had ever seen or heard of before. This was the famous Pointillism.” This peaceful Pointillism painting portrays a pleasantly perfect picture. The Circus, another memorable painting by Georges Seurat, reveals a graceful acrobat standing on a bareback horse with one foot. All of the people came to see the acrobat, and they all appear to be enjoying themselves tremendously. Most of the lines in this painting are horizontal or curved. However, the conductor of the circus, which is standing at the bottom the oil on canvas painting, appears to be standing perpendicular to the floor. This is a unique way to show a vertical line without actually physically painting it. The only definite vertical line in this painting is the entrance to the circus floor on the right side. This attracts your eyes to the man with a whip, which then gives you the understanding that the acrobat and horse are travelling counterclockwise. The lines in The Circus make your eyes go around from the north to the east, then the south to the west. Seurat did something amazing in this painting; you just have to look above what is actually painted. Seurat shows a society in which everyone is attracted to people or objects in which inspiration can be found. The people in the background all are intrigued by the center, which is constantly revolving. There are lots of yellows, reds, and blues within the painting. The yellow represents joy and happiness of the inspirational figure. The red represents love for the show in the center, and also the love that people have when they look up to someone or something. The blues represent the sadness of questioning whether or not we should actually take action in matters which honestly don’t even matter to our own lives. Seurat shows a society which still exist today. Unfortunately, Georges Seurat died while this painting was exhibited in its unfinished state at Salon des Indépendants from March 20 to April 27, 1891. His family sold it very cheap to Seurat’s friend, Paul Signac. Paul Signac quotes, “Seurat’s family, though very well off, is selling everything.” This painting is sometimes not given enough recognition as it may well deserve. Georges Seurat’s “The Models,” is intriguing at first impression because you notice Georges Seurat’s painting, “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jette,” in the background, and a nude model showing the steps of what she does. Another quite amazing thing about this picture is how perfectly proportional this oil on canvas painting is. The models in this painting are equal distance from each other and the border of this artwork. The colors in this painting truly show Georges Seurat’s technique of Pointillism. The light blue and the green from the painting on the wall show a tranquilly of peace which is present in this painting. The Models is comprised of over a thousand separate dots. The lines in this painting are vertical, horizontal, and curved. Every line painted in this painting makes it appear flawlessly proportional. This painting shows a model in three different stages of work: undressing, posing, and resting. Not only does this painting show a story of a model, it reveals a story of how Georges Seurat came to paint perfectly composed Pointillism paintings. At first impression this painting is more interesting for its subject rather than its design. However, that is false for a lasting impression. Some only see naked ladies, but Seurat intended that you can view more than just that. Georges Seurat shows his master skills as a painter when he gives the audience the thrill they have been waiting to see. The thrill of understanding the true theme of The Models, gives the audience the appreciation of art. When someone looks at a piece of art, they either are dumbfounded or they give themselves their own impression of the painting. Roger Fry even quotes, “It would be impossible to shift a ribbon or a button in it without unbalancing the whole work.” (Courtion, 31). Georges Seurat’s Georges Seurat shows all Impressionists that Pointillism really does have a point, and can convey art to the mind in the most unique way.
Not only is Georges Seurat the father of Pointillism, he was also a painter who practices science in his perfectly proportional paintings.
Every line and a dot of color make his paintings not only unique, but it gives them something special. The way the movements flow and how harmony roams free. It’s not just a Pointillism painting, it’s skeptical science. According to Seurat himself, “Painting is the art of hollowing a surface.” This means that when Georges Seurat paints, he does it to distinguish a theme found in life. The colors and lines that Georges Seurat uses give an ambiance which describes the painting, and the theme it’s describing. Georges Seurat once wrote in a letter, “I know very well that a line, independent of its representational role, has an appraisable abstract value.” Everything in Georges Seurat’s paintings is there for a reason. Each object fits another proportionally one way or another. The way Seurat played with color theories and the way he involves science in his painting demonstrates how an artist can show scientific skepticism in art. Georges Seurat combines art and science in his works proportionally as one would think impossible. Even though Georges Seurat is not really a scientist, the way he worked colors and lines is a milestone when art converged with science. Georges Seurat didn’t just paint for a pretty picture. Seurat wanted to give the audience the understanding that life is full of meanings, and it can come from just about anywhere or
anything. By only painting on some canvas, Georges Seurat showed the world that there is more to art than one would think. You just have to take the time to appreciate your surroundings. Don’t just remember Georges Seurat as the father of Pointillism, but also remember him as the painter who used science to portray perfectly pixilated paintings.
WORKS CITED
1. Courtion, Pierre. Seurat. New York: Harry N Abrams Inc, 31 December 1989.
2. Cogeval, Guy. Post-Impressionist. New York: W.S. Konecky and Associates, 1988.
3. “Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” 2000. 28 April 2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/seni/hd_seni.htm
4. “Noteable Names Database.” 2009. 27 April 2011. www.nndb.com/people/810/
000029723/.
5. Pioch, Nickolas. “Paris Web Museum.” 16 July 2002. 1 May 2011. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/seurat/
6. “Renoir Fine Arts Inc.” 1998. 29 April 2011. http://www.renoirinc.com/biography/artists/seurat.htm
7. Seurat, Geroges. The Circus. The Leuvre, Paris. Seurat: pg 159. By Pierre Courthion. New York: Harry N Abrams Inc, 1989.
8. Seurat, Georges. Dimanche après-midi à la île de la Grande Jette. The Chicago Art Museum, Chicago. Seurat: pg 109. By Pierre Courthion. New York: Harry N Abrams Inc, 1989.
9. Seurat, Georges. The Models. Collection of Henry P McIlhenry, Philadelphia. Seurat: pg 137. By Pierre Courthion. New York: Harry N Abrams Inc, 1989.
10. Weston, Lynley. “Georges Seurat.” 26 April 2011. www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Emerson/Seurat.html.