Arranging the Picture
Georges Seurat
Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque)
1887–88
Oil on canvas, 99.7 × 149.9 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Golden-ratio claims about this painting come from measuring it. Roger Fischler's 1981 study found no sign Seurat used the ratio.
- Look at the stiff horizontals, verticals and rows of lights: easy to fit a grid to, which is why overlays tempt.
- Simple ratios such as 5:8 sit close to the golden ratio, so a near fit proves little.
- His real planning shows in his studies for La Grande Jatte; see Checking a Composition.
Concepts
Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Public Domain (Met Open Access)