1 Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte: George Seurat, 1884
George Seurat, 1859-1891, was a very young French artist who revolutionized the art world. The artists of the day were impressionists but this young artist used what is now referred to as pointillism or divisionism, by using tiny dots and strokes. As part of the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection this large oil on canvas painting, measuring 81 ¾ x 121 ¼ was created in 1884. From a distance the painting looks as if it was done with a brush, yet upon closer examination every image is created with dots in various sizes and strokes gradually combined with complimentary colors they create images when viewed from far away (Wikipedia, n.d.). Seurat was …show more content…
It is manipulated through layered dots to create shadows and lighting within each blend of colors. Hue, tint and intensity of color is very important here because it is the basis of pointillism and used in such a way that aspects of the painting such as the green trees and grass blend and fade into the landscape. The dots also create a distinguished “outline” of each man, woman, and child without the use of a true line at all. The dominant color scheme consists of the cool colors, green and blue with green providing the painting with flourishing life, while blue is usually used to displayed a melancholy or somber feeling, here it almost sparkles and adds to the beauty of the day. Both of these components provide pleasure to the people and animals within the painting. These colors also appear to be used for the shadows produced from the direction of the light, in this case the sun. The creative use of color being placed in methodical relation to the others, such as the umbrellas and hats creates height and width pulling one part of the painting into the other; and the use of warm and cool colors analogously placed give the painting an even
George Seurat, 1859-1891, was a very young French artist who revolutionized the art world. The artists of the day were impressionists but this young artist used what is now referred to as pointillism or divisionism, by using tiny dots and strokes. As part of the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection this large oil on canvas painting, measuring 81 ¾ x 121 ¼ was created in 1884. From a distance the painting looks as if it was done with a brush, yet upon closer examination every image is created with dots in various sizes and strokes gradually combined with complimentary colors they create images when viewed from far away (Wikipedia, n.d.). Seurat was …show more content…
It is manipulated through layered dots to create shadows and lighting within each blend of colors. Hue, tint and intensity of color is very important here because it is the basis of pointillism and used in such a way that aspects of the painting such as the green trees and grass blend and fade into the landscape. The dots also create a distinguished “outline” of each man, woman, and child without the use of a true line at all. The dominant color scheme consists of the cool colors, green and blue with green providing the painting with flourishing life, while blue is usually used to displayed a melancholy or somber feeling, here it almost sparkles and adds to the beauty of the day. Both of these components provide pleasure to the people and animals within the painting. These colors also appear to be used for the shadows produced from the direction of the light, in this case the sun. The creative use of color being placed in methodical relation to the others, such as the umbrellas and hats creates height and width pulling one part of the painting into the other; and the use of warm and cool colors analogously placed give the painting an even