Georges Seurat

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Georges Seurat: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884

Connecting the dots: What is pointillism?

Georges Seurat: Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy

Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884 Explained

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"Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy" Georges Seurat, ca. 1888, oil on canvas, 65.1 x 80.9 cm

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Georges Seurat

French painter

Written by Pierre Courthion

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 28, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: December 2, 1859, Paris, France

Died:: March 29, 1891, Paris (aged 31)

Notable Works:: “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884”; “Bathers at Asnières”

Movement / Style:: Neo-Impressionism; Post-Impressionism; divisionism; pointillism

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Georges Seurat (born December 2, 1859, Paris, France—died March 29, 1891, Paris) was a painter and founder of the 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism whose technique for portraying the play of light using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colors became known as Pointillism. Using this technique, he created huge compositions with tiny, detached strokes of pure color too small to be distinguished when looking at the entire work but making his paintings shimmer with brilliance. Works in this style include Une Baignade, Asnières (1883–84; Bathers at Asnières) and A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884 (1884–86). Georges was the son of Antoine-Chrisostôme ...(100 of 1162 words)

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