Georges Seurat: The Art of Vision

Paul Cézanne was a French painter, whose innovative techniques and original interpretations of traditional genres made him perhaps the most influential artist in the early history of modernism. Affiliated primarily with Post-Impressionism, Cézanne famously declared: ‘I wanted to make of Impressionism something solid and enduring like the art in the museums’. Along with his Post-Impressionist contemporaries Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, and Georges Seurat, Cézanne advanced the lessons of the Impressionist painters with whom he was initially affiliated. His grasp of colour and composition, however, reflect his study of Éugene Delacroix and Nicolas Poussin. But it was Cézanne’s ability to represent underlying structures in nature, while retaining gestural but disciplined brushstrokes, that earned him the admiration of artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.

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Signac, Paul (1863–1935)

Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism ◽

10.4324/9781135000356-rem908-1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Eva Bezverkhny

Keyword(s):

New Method ◽

Oil Painting ◽

Physiological Optics ◽

Georges Seurat ◽

Painting Techniques

Paul Signac was a prolific French Neo-Impressionist painter during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His friendship with Georges Seurat defined the early part of his career in which he explored Pointillist and Divisionist painting methods. Interested by the laws and theories of physiological optics, Signac experimented with the effects of light and purposeful juxtaposition of color on canvas to produce effects in the eye of the viewer. Through the application of small, deliberate brushstrokes, Signac furthered the development of Neo-Impressionist painting techniques. Signac and Seurat practiced their theories of contrasting color through "Pointillism," the application of small dabs or dots of paint in calculated compositions. Following the death of Seurat in 1891 Signac turned from oil painting to watercolor and began to incorporate broader brushstrokes. He defined his new method as Divisionist rather than Pointillist. Signac focused his attention primarily on the promotion and dissemination of Divisionism and Neo-Impressionism.

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Pointillism

Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism ◽

10.4324/9781135000356-rem193-1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Stephanie Chadwick

Keyword(s):

Scientific Principles ◽

Light Effects ◽

Georges Seurat ◽

Related Process ◽

Color And Light

Pointillism is a technique developed by Neo-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat (1859–1891) whereby paint is meticulously applied in small daubs or dots. Interested in color and optical theories, the Neo-Impressionists (Seurat, Paul Signac, Camille Pissaro, and other artists) applied Pointillist daubs (rather than more sweeping Impressionist brushstrokes) in conjunction with a closely related process known as Divisionism. With the goal of creating well-crafted harmonies of contrasts, the points of paint were applied, in analogous and complementary clusters, over gradated fields of local colors (such as green for grass) to form mutually enhancing fields of complementary hues. Using these techniques, unmixed (or divided) points of pigment were applied with the idea that the colors would blend in the eyes and minds of the viewer. Although this optical blending does not fully occur, these techniques produce a sense of vibrancy as the viewer’s eyes attempt to synthesize the multi-colored points. Although Pointillist and Divisionist techniques were intended to produce undulating color and light effects, the Neo-Impressionists’ concern for scientific principles, ordered composition, and artistic craftsmanship tended to result in more rigidly structured paintings than those of the Impressionists.

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Eiffel Tower Through The Eyes of Painters

New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences ◽

10.18844/prosoc.v4i11.2845 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (11) ◽

pp. 01

Author(s):

Sibel Almelek Isman

Keyword(s):

French Revolution ◽

Diego Rivera ◽

Marc Chagall ◽

Fernand Leger ◽

The World ◽

International Exposition ◽

Georges Seurat ◽

The French Revolution

The Eiffel Tower, the global icon of France, was erected as the entrance to the Paris International Exposition in 1889. It was a suitable centrepiece for the World Fair, which celebrated the centennial of the French Revolution. Although the tower was a subject of controversy at the time of its construction, many European painters have been inspired by the majestic figure of the Eiffel Tower. They picturised the tower in their portraits and cityscapes. Paul Louis Delance, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac and Henri Rousseau were the first artists to depict this symbol of modernity. Robert Delaunay and Marc Chagall used the image of the tower most frequently. Maurice Utrillo, Raoul Dufy, Fernand Léger, Diego Rivera, Max Beckmann and Christian Schad can also be counted among the artists who picturised the tower. The Eiffel Tower appears differently in the eyes of pointillist, expressionist, orfist, cubist and abstract painters. Keywords: Eiffel Tower, European art, painting.

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John Rewald,Georges Seurat

The Art Bulletin ◽

10.1080/00043079.1945.11407693 ◽

1945 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 158-161

Author(s):

Robert Goldwater

Keyword(s):

Georges Seurat

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