Georges Seurat

A Post-impressionist artist, the creator of the original painting method called “divisionism”, or “pointillism”, the founder of Neo-impressionism.

Georges was born in the family of a bailiff. He began to paint from early childhood. Visited art schools, but preferred to study by himself.

The style and scientific concept of Georges-Pierre Seurat became an artistic revolution that has breathed life into Impressionism, which had already begun to lose its popularity. One decade was enough for Seurat to remain a synonym for innovation in the history of art, and also a synonym for self-denial in the name of the idea. Becoming a logical continuation of Impressionism, the non-standard technique created by him revealed a new branch of modernist trends – Neo-impressionism.

Key ideas:

– Seurat gravitated toward such a rigorous scientific method as divisionism (the more common name of the style is pointillism, from French “point”). The theory of decomposition and subsequent connection of colors in the eyes of the viewer is very similar to the work of the electronic raster display.

– The artist appealed to the method of painting rejected by the Impressionists: based on sketches-etudes painted in the open air, the conceived picture of a large format was then created by him in the studio.

– The feature characteristic for the style of Seurat is a unique way of depicting characters. Unkind criticism called the figures “cardboard dolls”, and even “lifeless caricatures.” However, Seurat simplified the forms consciously, striving for the effect of timelessness, which he believed to be found in the frescoes of the Greeks and Egyptians.