La Grande Jatte Art Analysis

This painting is an oil on canvas with its approximate size of 6’9 x 10’. It is currently displayed in The Art Institute of Chicago. It features many people in casual activity at La Grande Jatte which is an island in the Seine River near Asnieres (Gardener). Everyone is gathered together which seems to be a park near a lake, full of green everywhere from the healthy trees to the fresh green grass, all laid out on a nice clear day. The colors in this painting are truly incredibly with the use of detail and color pleasantly connecting and contrasting to one another. The age ranges vary from children to adults, all having a relaxing day. Some are standing and some are causally sitting and relaxing in the grass. Almost everyone is dressed in fancy attire, making their class distinction …show more content…
There are also a few animals in the scene, specifically one black dog sniffing the ground and another brown dog at play along with light brown monkey on a leash at the feet of their owner on all fours. The use of colors is remarkable from the dark green colors to convey the shadows of the grass, to the colors of fabric on the clothes of the wealth, and even to the ripples and clearness of the water. What makes this painting stand out from many of the earlier paintings is Seurat’s use of Divisionism, commonly known as Pointillism (Gardner). Pointillism are dots of color with strategic placement based on concept of color theory. Seurat explains that he divides out the color and then creates tiny dots to the canvas by applying pure component colors which then leads to shapes, figures, and spaces to come to life that can only be seen from a distance because the viewer’s eye will therefore blend the colors together, making figures appear to where they are seen to be (Gardner). His techniques are very tedious which causes him to take years to complete one canvas because of his detailed emphasis on his