Georges Seurat, 'Study for 'La Grande Jatte'', 1884-5

Study for 'La Grande Jatte'

Georges Seurat

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This is one of the earliest studies for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte of 1884–6 (Art Institute of Chicago), and was very likely painted on location. As this sketch was painted in the morning, the sunlight and shadows are the reverse of other studies and of the final painting itself, which shows the island in the afternoon.

Shining from the south-east, the sun lights up the foreground. The middle ground is in shade because the sunlight cannot penetrate the dense overhead foliage. Despite the extensive shaded areas, Seurat has used touches of golden-yellow throughout. These provide a warm tone and unify the composition.

Although Seurat has included several figures, his focus here is on the colours of the grassy area that fills almost three-quarters of the picture. His colour choices were based upon his direct observation of the landscape, but they were also informed by his knowledge of contemporary colour theory.

In-depth

This is one of the earliest studies for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte of 1884–6 (Art Institute of Chicago). Like most of Seurat’s other oil sketches, it is painted on a small board of unprimed wood, which is clearly visible in some areas such as the water. It was very likely painted on location.

As this study was painted in the morning, the sunlight and shadows are the reverse of other studies and of the final painting itself. Shining from the south-east, the sun lights up the foreground. The middle ground is in shade because the sunlight cannot penetrate the dense overhead foliage. Despite the extensive shaded areas, Seurat uses touches of golden-yellow throughout, which provide a warm tone and unify the composition. These touches also contribute to the yellow-green of the sunlit areas.

Although Seurat has included several figures, his focus here is on the colours of the grassy area that fills almost three-quarters of the picture. Green tones dominate the grassy area, but Seurat avoids uniformity by adding strokes of orange, pink, wine red and light blue. These reds and pinks, reinforced with a purplish blue, are also used for the tree trunks. Darker greens and blues indicate shaded areas, while lighter greens, enlivened by touches of orange (for broken sunlight) and blue (for reflected light), are used for less shaded areas. The golden-yellow also appears in the water, where Seurat adds creamy whites and pinks to the light and dark blues. He has used evenly placed horizontal strokes for the water, which contrast with the more agitated, almost scribbled brushstrokes used elsewhere, particularly in the foreground.

Although Seurat’s colour choices were based upon his direct observation of the landscape, they were also informed by his knowledge of contemporary colour theory. The purple tints along the edges of the sunlit areas are based upon a colour-light contrast of purple and green rather than the more conventional complementary colour pairing of purple and yellow.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Study for 'La Grande Jatte'
Artist: Georges Seurat
Artist dates: 1859 - 1891
Date made: 1884-5
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 16 × 25 cm
Acquisition credit: Presented by Heinz Berggruen, 1995
Inventory number: NG6556
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

The Appert family, Paris; Galerie Bignou, Paris; Reid and Lefevre, London, and M. Knoedler and Co., New York; until 1936; sold by Reid and Lefevre to Georges Renand in 1937; Wildenstein and Co., Paris and New York, by 1966; in the collection of Florence J. Gould, Cannes, from 1966 until her death in 1983; sold from her estate at Sotheby’s New York, 24 April 1985 and purchased by Heinz Berggruen; presented by Heinz Berggruen, 1995.

Additional information

Text extracted from the National Gallery’s Annual Report, ‘The National Gallery Report: April 1995 – March 1996’.

Exhibition history

2009

Georges Seurat: Figure in Space

Kunsthaus Zürich

2 October 2009 - 17 January 2010

Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt

4 February 2010 - 9 May 2010
2013

Normandie Impressionniste

Musée des Beaux-Arts (Caen)

27 April 2013 - 29 September 2013
2016

Seurat, Signac, Van Gogh Ways of Pointillism

Albertina

15 September 2016 - 8 January 2017

Bibliography

1928

C. Zervos, 'Un dimanche à la Grande Jatte et la technique de Seurat', Cahiers d'Art, 9, 1928, pp. 361-75
1931

J.F. Van Deene, 'Georges Seurat', Maandblad voor Beeldende Kunsten, 1931
1935

D.C. Rich, Seurat and the Evolution of La Grande Jatte, Chicago 1935
1959

H. Dorra and J. Rewald, Seurat: L'oeuvre peint; biographie et catalogue critique, Paris 1959
1959

S. Lövgren, The Genesis of Modernism: Seurat, Gauguin, Van Gogh and French Symbolism in the 1880's, Stockholm 1959
1961

C. de Hauke, Seurat et son oeuvre, Paris 1961
1969

P. Courthion, Georges Seurat, Paris 1969
1991

R.L. Herbert, Seurat (exh. cat. Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 9 April - 12 August 1991; Metropolitan Museum of Art, 24 September 1991 - 12 January 1992), Paris 1991
1991

R. Kendall, Van Gogh to Picasso: The Berggruen Collection at the National Gallery (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 16 January - 21 April 1991), London 1991
1996

National Gallery, The National Gallery Report: April 1995- March 1996, London 1996
1997

J. Leighton and R. Thomson, Seurat and the Bathers, (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 2 July - 28 September 1997), London 1997
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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You've viewed 6 of 10 works

Georges Seurat, 'Study for 'La Grande Jatte'', 1884-5

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Georges Seurat