Study for "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte"
1884
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
27 3/4 x 41 in. (70.5 x 104.1 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Sam A. Lewisohn, 1951
Accession Number
51.112.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
Georges Seurat's *Study for "A Sunday La Grande Jatte"*1884) is a captivating oil-on-canvas preparatory work for one of the most iconic paintings in modern art. Created during a pivotal moment in French Impressionism's evolution, this 27 3/4 x 41-inch sketch captures a leisurely scene on the Island of La Grande Jatte the Seine River near Paris. Seurat meticulously composed groups of men, women,, dogs, and even monkeys—evoking the bourgeois Sunday outings of 1880s Parisians—blending everyday recreation with a sense of timeless harmony. As a pioneer of Pointillism (or Divisionism), Seurat appli...
About the Artist
Georges Seurat · 1859–1891
Georges Seurat (1859-1891) was the founder of Neo-Impressionism and the inventor of Pointillism, a revolutionary technique that transformed how artists understand and apply color. In a tragically brief career cut short at age 31, Seurat produced only seven monumental paintings, yet his systematic application of color theory fundamentally altered the direction of modern art. Born in Paris to a pro...