A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte by George Seurat - Essay Example

In the age of technological development, people have got accustomed to use photographs and video materials in order to ponder what they see around them at the moment of seeing or to refer directly to some events in the past. In this context, ability of artistic samples to reflect and embellish ordinary reality is neglected and completely forgotten these days. Nevertheless, in-depth analysis of the paintings created in the previous epochs tells contemporary people a lot about the way these societies lived and issues they found important for them. In particular, atmosphere of French society in the nineteenth century created on the painting A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte (1884) by Georges Seurat is a bright example of such an artistic power. Actually, it illustrates the way people in Paris were spending their free time on the weekends, demonstrates peculiarities of French fashion, and shows the level of previous industrial development in Europe. In addition, a specific ambience of this painting which can be described as combination of warmth and silver shade is easily felt even by looking at this artwork nowadays. And so, these features together convince contemporary spectators that they are referring to the masterpiece of art. Hence, this complicated artwork is worth for the detailed description and analysis of its elements. And so, in a given essay the specific manner George Seurat was applying for his painting A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte is analyzed by paying attention to the details, to the whole composition, and to the brush work that is visible on the artwork. To start with, an extraordinary combination of light and color is evident by looking at each of the postures on the canvas separately. Actually, the slight look to the details convinces the people who view them that they are presented as simplistically as possible. Nevertheless, all the parts of this artwork are not following the strict scenario of imaging. For instance, the central couple on the image is shown in the extravagant manner. In particular, the silhouette of the woman is hyperbolized by being convex and lush. In addition, such an unrealistic creature is accompanied by a monkey and her partner who is smoking cigar. All these elements are colored in dark clothes and are put in a shade of the park. In general, this element of the painting is rather a caricature than an attempt to create an image of lovely Parisian crowd. But, referring to other figures on the canvas impresses spectators in a completely different way. For example, joyful girl behind above-mentioned couple can be considered as an attempt to supplement the whole atmosphere of the park with more action and brightness. Nevertheless, this small girl in contrast to huge static posture of the above-mentioned pair remains unnoticed. Correspondingly, it is hard to concentrate on all the small children and animals around these two as they fill by themselves all the attention of spectators. However, when the first level of shade on the painting is completed, the other people become easily recognized. In this part of the artwork, people are wearing warm orange, brown and white clothes. In this context, the mother and small girl in a lightened part of the artwork can be taken as a contradiction to the dark pair with monkey. In particular, this woman is holding brown umbrella; moreover, she is accompanied by cute white daughter not a smoking man. Concerning the only white spot on the canvas, this small lady seems to be the only real and sincere element of the whole composition. Moreover, the mother and her daughter are standing straightly not showing only certain part of their bodies as all the other people walking the Grande-Jatte do. However, their role is not that sparkling as their faces are greased and they do not show any clear expression. Similarly, the other bright postures are not interesting and look unnatural. Hence, separated figures on the painting A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte are not as important as it appears to be at the first glance. Furthermore, the whole composition of these separated elements is combined according to the specific idea of George Seurat. In fact, it can be determined as an attempt to show the artificial lifestyle that had won the minds and landscapes of Europe in the nineteenth century. In this context, the artistic manner of posing figures on the canvas in such a way that they do not notice each other’s existence is working together with this purpose. Hence, the whole atmosphere of the warm shiny landscape is different from the social sphere where separateness and solitude is ruling. Moreover, the painting which in details present combination of bright tones from the distance is mostly dark with silver lighting. In the perspective of the whole painting, the light and dark parts of the park alternate coherently as white and dark lines on zebra’s body. In fact, this creates a feeling of strict rhythm which can be compared to the assembly-line production. In this context, piece of land turns into conveyor; similarly, piece of water on the background looks like silver machinery. So, this element of the painting can be considered as an artistic mean to create an illusion of space on the canvas. Moreover, after feeling this rhythm all the figures in general start looking in an unnatural and plastic way as dolls do. In this context, the frequent appearance of animals does not break this impression as they are static too. In addition, in some cases it is hard to separate the posture of a man and of an animal. In this context, one of the silhouettes sitting back can be taken as a huge dragonfly rather than a woman. In this context of transition zone between two parts of the composition, two women sitting on the grass combine in their clothes both dark and bright colors. Even their umbrella is decorated as a combination of grey surface and warm-colored inside. In a philosophical manner, this transition can be considered as an attitude of the painter to the epoch he lived in. In this context, people by hunting fashionable standards tend to hide their bright personalities. Therefore, it is evident that the whole composition of the painting A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte is created thoughtfully. Hence, the general purpose of the artist can be easily recognized by an attentive spectator who has enough imagination to read through the lines of dark and light in this artwork. Finally, the closer look to the brush work used in the painting is really impressing by its unusualness, creativity, and talent. In this context, the painting which at the first glance is created by using strict lines and simple colors turns into mosaic of numerous colored points while looking at them closer. In fact, such a manner of using points on the artwork A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte (called Pointillism afterwards) can be compared to the contemporary usage of pixels on electronic devices in order to create the whole photographs. Therefore, it is really hard to imagine how long and accurate must be the working process of the painter in order to realize such an idea which is created by computers nowadays. So, the manner of imaging created by Georges Seurat was surely revolutionary for his time. Actually, the fact that this pompous painting was not fully accepted by his coevals on the exhibition can be comprehended nowadays by acknowledging this pioneering manner. Moreover, the key difference between previously popular Impressionist artistic style and the brand-new type of artwork was rather ideological than technical. In fact, while Impressionists presented their paintings as colorful fantasies based momentary inspiration, George Seurat’s manner appeared to be precisely calculated and measured. Hence, previously mixed on canvas colors were replaced by the new artistic style which was based on applying certain number of multicolored separated points. It is an innovative fact that these separated elements are easily mixed in the eyes of distant spectators. Therefore, the process of looking at the artwork becomes more exciting as the viewer turns into the artist in this case. Actually, it is easily imagined how the artist created his paintings as the closer look at the painting discovers the working process like a draft. Accordingly, even though this manner was not accepted during the first appearance of this painting, Pointillism as a specific brush work assisted originating of the whole new style of Neoimpressionism in painting and of the logic of thinking in creating pixel images in technology. And so, personal courage and creativeness of George Seurat was proved in the future with the rapid development of art and industry. In order to sum up, the artwork A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte created by George Seurat in 1884 is a complex and extravagant painting as for the end of the nineteenth century. However, this fact shows its relevance and impresses by its pioneering these days. In this context, the whole purpose of this artist was reflected both in composition of the painting and the brush work that he introduced on it. After evaluating different elements of the composition, it becomes evident that they are strikingly different in terms of color, light, and type of behavior. For instance, main figures wearing dark fashionable clothes and hiding in a shade of the trees are supplemented by bright warm figures of ladies lying in the grass. Nevertheless, from the distant look the main atmosphere of this panting is mainly muted and static. In particular, the fact that all the postures are living their own lives without paying attention to the world around them is making them plastic and artificial. So, the whole composition is similar to the assembly-line industrial process which modified social life of the whole Europe in the epoch George Seurat lived in. Hence, his specific manner of Pointillism which was highly debatable in the nineteenth century appears to be prophesying nowadays. In particular, he introduced the specific mathematic manner of the artwork based on using separated points of different colors which are integrated into the smooth lines and shapes from the distance. Likewise, the separated individuals from his painting are forming the whole Grande-Jatte’s crowd in the painting and individualistic type of Parisian society in the reality. In addition, huge popularity of pixel images in the contemporary world confirms the assumption of revolutionary talent which is evident in the case of George Seurat and his artwork A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte. Therefore, this painting can be surely defined as a masterpiece in the history of art. Work Cited: Seurat, George. A Sunday on the Grande-Jatte, 1884. Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago. Read More