Seurat, Georges

Seurat, Georges (1859-1891), French painter, who with Paul Signac originated the influential theory and practice of Neo-Impressionism.

Seurat was born in Paris on December 2, 1859, and was trained at the École des Beaux-Arts. Rejecting the soft effect of Impressionist paintings, made up of irregular brushstrokes, he developed the more scientific technique of Pointillism, in which solid forms are built up through the application of many small dots of unmixed colour to a white background. Seurat's revolutionary Pointillism found many pupils and imitators but, except in the work of Signac, was unequalled in its perfect blending of colours. Many of Seurat's theories in regard to painting were derived from his study of contemporary treatises on optics. His scientific bent was revealed also in his work habits, which included fixed hours and the meticulous systematization of his technique.

In 1884 Seurat completed Bathers at Asnières (The National Gallery, London), a scene of boys bathing in the Seine River; this was the first of six large canvases that constituted the major part of his life's work. In this and subsequent works, he continued the Impressionist tradition of depicting holiday outings and entertainments. He departed from Impressionist style, however, in the precise application of the paint and in the suggestion of depth and volume. His masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-1886, Art Institute of Chicago), represents Sunday strollers on an island in the Seine. The painting achieves an atmosphere of monumental dignity through the balanced arrangement of its elements and the contours of its figures. Seurat's other large-scale works are The Models (1888, Barnes Foundation Collection, Merion, Pennsylvania), The Side Show (1889, Stephen Clark Collection, New York), The Chahut (1889-1891, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands), and The Circus (1890, Louvre, Paris). He died in Paris on March 29, 1891.