Seurat & the influence of Impressionism

Transcription

1 Seurat & the influence of Impressionism The painting of A Sunday at la Grande Jatte. ARTH103: Andrew Wilkinson, student # Georges Seurat was an influential Neo-Impressionist painter in the late 19th century. He is known for being an academically trained painter who aspired to bring structure back into painting. 1 Seurat s magnum opus is widely considered to be A Sunday at La Grande Jatte, ( ) and over the course of this essay I aim to investigate the influence of Impressionism on Seurat, most notably in regard to this painting. I postulate that while Seurat learned a great deal from Impressionism, (indeed, he referred to himself as an impressionniste-luministe 2 ) it was just one of many influences on him. Seurat did not submit to any one style, but took what he wished from many different sources. To consider this, one must take into account many of the philosophical and fundamental similarities and differences between Seurat and the Impressionists; as well as common ground in areas such as subject matter, and points of distinction in technique. 1 The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 37, No. 210 (Sep., 1920), pp Seurat, Letter to Signac, 2 July 1887, in Dorra and Rewald LX, via The Art Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 3 (Sep., 1987), pp

2 Seurat drew from a young age, and unlike many artists at the time, his parents were not opposed to his choice of profession. In February of 1878, Seurat joined the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under the tuition of Henri Lehmann, and began his academic training. 3 Seurat was enamored by the classical masters, frequently visiting the Louvre to study the works within. He also frequented Saint-Sulpice to view Delacroix s works, a passionate admirer of his master. 4 Seurat s early works, such as e Gardener (c. 1882) feature visible brush strokes and a style inconsistent with his later paintings. Indeed, even his first masterwork, Bathers at Asniéres ( ) did not make use of of his trademark style of Pointillism until he went back two years later (after the painting of Sunday at la Grande Jatte) to retouch the painting. 5 Pointillism is the act of placing small dots of colour beside each other to invoke the effect of simultaneous contrast and increase vibrancy. Seurat aimed to leave the mixing of colours to the eye, instead of mixing them on the canvas itself. He pioneered this technique after reading books about popular art history, manuals on industrial & decorative arts, and studying exhaustively the science of optics and perception. 6 e reasons for Seurat s use of Pointillism are far more interesting, however. It is well known that Seurat, along with his classmates from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, visited an Impressionist exhibition in 1879 and were shocked 7 (rather unsurprisingly, given the comparative dullness of Lehmann s work) by the intense colour palettes used by the Impressionists. 3 Alain Madeleine-Perdrillat, Seurat (Geneva: Editions d Art Albert Skira S.A., 1990) p.14 4 Madeleine-Perdrillat, Seurat, p.14 5 Madeleine-Perdrillat, Seurat, p Martha Ward, Pissarro, Neo-Impressionism and the spaces of the Avant-Garde (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., 1996) 7 Madeleine-Perdrillat, Seurat, p.16

3 I believe that Seurat s use of Pointillism was driven by a desire for vibrancy in his work; and that there s no doubt that Seurat was heavily influenced in his choice of colour palette by seeing Impressionist works at this stage of his education. e Impressionists, or e Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Engravers, etc first exhibited in 1874 to mixed reception. e society was open to any artist willing to pay 60 francs a year. It consisted of both professional artists unhappy with the salon, and of amateur artists who had never exhibited before. Impressionist work was characterized by (but not exclusively) loose brush strokes, bright palettes and modern subject matter. Many Impressionists painted open-air, such as Monet and Cézanne. Philosophically, Impressionists often aimed to give an expression of a scene, rather than actual representation, though not all of them felt this way Degas considered himself a realist painter. Seurat, despite his non-classical style, painted using an extremely academic process, a key point of difference between Seurat and the Impressionists. While Impressionists such as Monet were known for rapidly painting their subject matter, 8 sometimes using several canvases at a time, Seurat took an extremely methodical approach, creating study after study before beginning work on the final painting. is can be evidenced through the amount of studies that he generated for Sunday at La Grande Jatte, over 60 in total. 9 Stylistically, Seurat s ordered method of Pointillism put him at odds with many of the Impressionists when he exhibited with them in 1886, ultimately causing a rift in the movement. Pissarro not only defended Seurat and his contemporary, Signac, but adopted Pointillism himself for a period of time Richard R. Brettell, Impression: Painting Quickly in France, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000) p Madeleine-Perdrillat, Seurat, pp Camille Pissarro, Letters to his son Lucien (New York: Pantheon Books Inc., 1943) pp

4 Despite their differences, Seurat learned a lot from the Impressionists, both technically and philosophically. When Seurat first visited their exhibition in 1879, on display were works such as Rue Montorgueil by Monet, featuring bright, vivid colours which, as I have pointed out before, no doubt influenced his use of Pointillism in Sunday and later works. Philosophically, despite his taste for science Seurat s works did not strive for realism, like Academic works of the day. 11 Like the Impressionists, I believe that Seurat aimed to give an expression of a scene, but he took a far more ordered and methodical approach to it than they did, owing to his Academic roots. e influence of Impressionism however, is no more apparent than in Seurat s choice of subject matter. A Sunday at la Grande Jatte pays homage to its Impressionist heritage through the subject matter that Seurat chose. In this, the influence of Impressionism is apparent. Seurat in his works, including Sunday, chose to represent modern life much like the Impressionists before him. However, Seurat s idealized view of the modern age shows his academic roots A Sunday at la Grande Jatte is a stark contrast against Degas L Absinthe for example. Both of these works portray a modern subject matter, however L Absinthe is gritty and dysphoric, representing the social ills of the time. Sunday, on the other hand, represents a utopian view of modern society. A Sunday at la Grande Jatte featured a subject matter that was quite popular among Impressionists Monet painted Springtime on la Grande Jatte in 1878, exhibiting it in It is probable that Seurat, during his first visit to the exhibition of the Impressionists, viewed and was influenced by Springtime. 11 Madeleine-Perdrillat, Seurat, p Art Institute of Chicago, Seurat and the Making of La Grande Jatte, accessed 12 Apr 2009,

5 His choice of subject matter has been viewed by some as a way of teasing the Impressionists, by taking naturalistic subject matters common among their works, and restoring order to them. 13 Indeed, Seurat has been termed by some as a reconstructor, bringing order back into French art at a time when amorphousness ruled the landscape of independent art. 14 His magnum-opus, A Sunday at la Grande Jatte is a shining example of this. Sunday shows many different influences; from the science of optics, to the bright and varied palette of the Impressionists, to the exactingly precise and methodical approach of the Academy. Seurat was undoubtedly influenced by the Impressionists during the painting of A Sunday at la Grande Jatte, as evidenced through the arguments I have made in this essay, but the areas in which he innovated are far more interesting than what he drew from the past. Seurat will always be remembered for pioneering a new and structured approach to painting which took the best aspects of science, Impressionism and the classical process, and fused them as one. 13 The Art Institute of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, The Grande Jatte at 100 (1989), pp The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 37, No. 210 (Sep., 1920), pp

6 Bibliography Art Institute of Chicago, Seurat and the Making of La Grande Jatte, accessed 12 Apr 2009, Bretell, Richard R.. Impression: Painting Quickly in France New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000 Catton Rich, Daniel e Place of Seurat e Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Feb. 1, 1958), pp. 2-5 (Chicago: e Art Institute of Chicago, 1958.) Gage, John. e Technique of Seurat: A Reappraisal e Art Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 3 (Sep., 1987), pp (New York: College Art Association ) House, John. Reading the Grande Jatte Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, e Grande Jatte at 100 (1989), pp (Chicago: e Art Institute of Chicago, 1992.) Madeleine-Perdrillat, Alain. Seurat Geneva: Editions d Art Albert Skira S.A., 1990 Seurat, Letter to Signac, 2 July 1887, in Dorra and Rewald LX, via e Art Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 3 (Sep., 1987), pp Salmon, André. Georges Seurat e Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 37, No. 210 (Sep., 1920), pp (London: e Burlington Magazine Publications, Ltd., 1920.) Ward, Martha. Pissarro, Neo-Impressionism, and the spaces of the Avant Garde Chicago: e University of Chicago Press, Ltd., 1996

7 Pictures Referenced Note: I didn t have time to add figure numbers here. That cost me probably 1-2% of my mark. Seurat - A Sunday at la Grande Jatte Seurat - e Gardener

8 Seurat - Bathers at Asnieres (retouched 1887) Monet - Springtime on la Grande Jatte

9 Monet - La Rue Montorgueil - c. 1878