Georges Seurat, 1859–1891: The Master of Pointillism

Georges Seurat (1859–1891) was only 31 when he died, but his short life blazed with inspiration, vision, and creativity and altered the course of European painting. A keen student of the interplay between light and color, Seurat studied Delacroix, in particular, as a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His studies led him to develop the concept of Neoimpressionism, which in turn, resulted in the radical approach of Divisionism. This technique, which informs his two best-known pieces Bathers at Asnieres (1884) and A Sunday Afternoon at the Ile de La Grande Jatte (1886), used pointillism to laboriously develop images that shimmered with luminescence and movement. In this accessible and enjoyable introduction to Seurat’s life and work, we meet an artist driven by a profound need to articulate nature, harmony, and the simple pleasures of life in dense, kinetic tones and lines.