Putting It Together
Georges Seurat
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884
1884–86
Oil on canvas, 207.5 × 308.1 cm. The Art Institute of Chicago
Dozens of different figures are held in one ordered scene.
- The Art Institute says Seurat meant it as a modern answer to a classical Greek frieze.
- He reworked it two years later, making some figures bigger and adding new ones, such as the monkey on a leash.
- Look for the repeats that bind it: upright figures in profile, parasols, curving hats and shadows.
Concepts
Image: The Art Institute of Chicago · Public domain (AIC API is_public_domain: true)