The French post-Impressionist artist, Georges Seurat, was born in December 1859 and died on 29 March 1891. He is best known for devising two painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism.
His personality combined qualities that are usually not thought of as compatible in an artist. He had, as an example, an extremely delicate sensibility but also a passion for logical abstraction.
In this article, we’ll highlight some interesting facts about his personal life and his artistic world.
He Combined Opposites
The combination of opposites manifests in his passion for logical abstraction and mathematical precision of mind on the one hand and his extreme and delicate sensibility on the other hand. These two different characteristics can be seen in Georges Seurat artworks.
The Georges Seurat paintings also illustrate his unique combination of art aspects like the techniques of the conservative classical Salon painters with the subject matter of the Impressionists. He saw his paintings in the tradition of the great Salon painters and thus thought of the figures in Georges Seurat artworks as if they were figures in monumental classical reliefs. But simultaneously with this conservatism, he used typical Impressionist subject matter like the urban leisure pursuits of the bourgeois and the working class.
He Devised New Painting Techniques.
He is widely renowned for devising the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism (divisionism) and pointillism. Seurat was fascinated by a variety of scientific ideas about color, form, and expression. He strongly believed that lines in specific directions, and colors associated with a particular warmth or coolness, could have expressive effects.
He also believed that contrasting or complementary colors could optically mix to yield vivid tones that couldn’t be achieved by mixing paint alone. He called the technique he developed “chromo-luminism,” although it is better known as divisionism and pointillism. “Divisionism” refers to the method of separating color into separate dots, and “pointillism” refers to the tiny strokes of paint he used that were crucial to achieving the flickering effects of his surfaces.
He was Intrigued with the Color Theory
Sir Isaac Newton established the idea of the color theory when he invented the color wheel in 1666. Newton saw colors as human perceptions of wavelengths of light and not absolute qualities. He systematically categorized colors into three groups – Primary (red, blue, yellow), Secondary (mixes of primary colors), and Tertiary (mixes of primary and secondary colors).
Seurat was intrigued with the color theory and its scientific point of departure. The color theory is, in principle, a collection of rules and guidelines which designers and artists use as a communication tool. According to the theory, every Color and combination of colors convey messages to the viewers. To choose the best hues every time, designers and artists use a color wheel principle. Seurat used the color theory principles in some of his works to convey the theme of the work.
He Believed Color could Create Harmony.
Seurat applied the color theorists’ notion of a scientific approach to painting. Leading to the use of color to create harmony and emotion in art. Seurat believed that a visual artist could use Color in the same way that a musician could use counterpoint and variation to create harmony in music. His conviction was that the scientific application of color was like the approach to any other natural law.
He also believed, like many other French artists of the time, in the concept that painting could be expressed mathematically. This could be both in terms of color and form. According to him and artists with the same view, their mathematical expression resulted in independent and compelling “objective truth.”
He Created many Conté Crayon Drawings.
Seurat is famous for his paintings, but his conté crayon drawings have also received critical appreciation. His conté crayon drawings were once described as “the most beautiful painter’s drawings in existence,” These mysterious and luminous works on paper form an important part of his portfolio.
Interestingly, the first artwork of Seurat to be exhibited was not a painting but a conté crayon drawing of Aman-Jean. It was shown at the Salon in 1883.
He had only 10 Productive Years.
While attending school, Georges began to draw, and in 1875, when he was 16 years of age, he took a course from a sculptor, Justin Lequien. In 1878 he officially entered the École des Beaux-Arts, and in its library, Seurat discovered a book that inspired him for the rest of his life: the “Essai sur les signes inconditionnels de l’art” (“Essay on the Unmistakable Signs of Art”), by Humbert de Superville. It dealt with the relationship between lines and images.
Seurat was also influenced by the ideas of David Sutter. Sutter combined mathematics and musicology. Throughout Seurat’s brief career, he had a strong interest in the scientific basis of art. When Seurat started his professional career, he felt that the contemporary art of that time depicted life in ways akin to traditional art, and the artists only used technologically advanced means.
Later in life, he became very much intrigued with Gothic artwork and contemporary advertisements. The effect of this on his works makes it some of the earliest contemporary art to use atypical forms of communication. He became one of the main figures of Paris’ avant-garde. Unfortunately, his success was short-lived since he passed away at the age of 31 after only ten years of production.
The Bottom Line
Georges Seurat had only ten productive years as an artist, but in that ten years, he developed new painting techniques and was recognized as a leading French Post-impressionist. He will be forever cherished as one of the leading artists utilizing the scientifically grounded color theory. That’s not all; he was the “father” of the two painting techniques, divisionism, and pointillism.
Seurat created seven monumental paintings, and his portfolio includes at least 40 smaller paintings and sketches, about 500 drawings, and several sketchbooks.