The Arts enables interpretation and emotion in order to establish understanding

• A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte – Georges Seurat
  • Illustrates people relaxing in a park in the Seine River, a place where the middle and upper class of Paris go for a retreat.
  • The concept of Pointillism was created a result of this painting as the artist used dots to show light, shadow, and shapes, rather than using more traditional methods at that time.
  • Seurat observed that small dots would appear in “solid and luminous” forms when seen from a long distance.
  • Seurat had a theory to support this chosen method, in order to justify his work to critiques. He believed that “employing tiny juxtaposed dots of multi-colored paint really can allow the viewer’s eye to blend colours optically.”
  • The most astonishing aspect of this work is the implicit detail of the individuals in the painting and how these details help to express truths of society back in late 19th century Paris.
  • Seurat paid more attention to the shapes of the figures rather than show their personalities, and cared more about their sophistication and how they would all contribute to the piece as a whole.
  • Seurat was able to convey a surprising message that this “high-class getaway for the Parisian community,” appears to be more intimidating and terrifying, as the piece shows silence and order as everyone seems to be alone no matter if they are placed to another individual.
  • Something that is hard to notice at first is the fact that there is a shadow cast on every individual in the painting, whether it is from a tree, another object, or from a different person. This could have been a way to show that these people are lacking a sense of individuality and autonomy and that they all play different roles which contribute to the conventional nature of society. There is in fact strange things happening in this image, for example the lady on the right with a monkey on a leash. The painting shows individuals with no illustrated expression and who all seem to be facing in one clear direction, further implying the idea of a very orderly and rigid society. The figures are also described as “robotic,” perhaps to show the traditional french society at that time.
  • However, there is one girl standing in the centre of the canvas, who is the only person in the painting that is clearly lit up with no shadow cast over her, almost as if she were looking directly at the observer.
  • Seurat also drastically changes the proportions of different figures, not only to show their physical position in relation to the observer, but perhaps to identify a sense of hierarchy and the idea that in the middle/upper class society, there is the presence of a higher level of respectability and ‘worship’ towards those more wealthy and fortunate.

In conclusion, Seurat uses different artistic techniques in order to pay more attention to the composition and structure of the piece to enable an understanding of the typical french society in the late 1800’s.

V., Andrey. “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte – A Study.” Widewalls, 28 Jan. 2018, www.widewalls.ch/a-sunday-afternoon-on-the-island-of-la-grande-jatte-georges-seurat/.