Step 1 - Introducing the Georges Seurat Slideshow Guide

Step 1 - Introducing the Georges Seurat Slideshow Guide BEGIN READING HERE MOTIVATION When you were younger you did a dot-to-dot page in a coloring book. What happens when you connect the numbered dots? (MAKE A PICTURE, OUTLINE) After you connect the outline, then you color it in to complete the picture. Now imagine this! Instead of just connecting dots to form an outline for a picture, the entire picture is made up of dots, millions and millions of them, so small it would be impossible to count or even guess how many there were! What do you think that would look like? Try to visualize millions of colored dots forming a picture. Would it be beautiful or ridiculous looking? Would it be confusing or peaceful? Our artist today, Georges Seurat, invented a new way of painting with dots. Why would anyone want to paint in such an unusual and time-consuming way? First, let s meet Georges Seurat and have him answer that question in his own words. Click Start Lesson To Begin DEVELOPMENT 1. PHOTO OF ARTIST Seurat said, I painted like that, because I wanted to try something new a kind of painting that was my own. It was definitely Seurat s own style and his own invention. Look carefully at this photo of Seurat and give me a one-word description of his personality. Look past his outward appearance to describe him. (TAKE SEVERAL RESPONSES) Let s see if you are right. Would this style of art take a lot of patience? (YES) Would it take a lot of willpower to stay with such a long process? (YES) That begins to tell you something of the personality of Georges Seurat. People who knew him said he was very private. He was a tall man, very shy and timid but with great energy. He was described as peaceful but incredibly stubborn. You expected him to be frightened of everything, but he was afraid of nothing. 1 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

A man was asked to describe Seurat in one word, just as you did. After thinking a short while, he picked the word, organizer. In art, Seurat left nothing to luck or chance; he planned everything. He never started a painting without knowing exactly what he was going to do, down to the last flick of the paintbrush in signing the finished canvas. Now that you know something of the type of man who invented this new way of painting with dots, let s take a look at his most famous painting. 2. SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON ISLAND OF GRANDE JATTE Raise your hand if you can see the dots. (YES) As you can tell, the entire picture is made up of dots, millions and millions of dots. An artist puts a dot of paint on a canvas with the point of his brush. This style of art is called POINTILLISM. Seurat dedicated himself to the mastery of color. At school he had learned to draw lines. Now he began to make drawings that had no lines, only many varied values of color. Like the Impressionists, he painted the world around him, the people of Paris, landscapes, sunshine, reflections in water. But unlike the other, he was not interested in catching that passing moment as colors change. He wanted to show permanence and exactness. Impressionists like Monet painted as quickly as they could to capture the way a color looked for a fleeting moment. Out of the Impressionists quick, haphazard dots and dashes, Seurat developed a science. He, too, painted in dabs of color but in thousands upon thousands of dots, like confetti, applied with painstaking precision to build a picture. By looking at this painting, what day of the week do you think it could be? (SUNDAY) That is part of the title, Sunday Afternoon on Island of Grande Jatte. Seurat shows us one of the parks outside of Paris, France. Seurat was born in Paris, and as a young boy he lived near a grand park with lakes, mountains, and many fun things to do. He saw many different types of people at the park who came to enjoy themselves. This fond memory from his childhood was the setting he chose for this great masterpiece. 2 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

3. LA GRANDE JATTE - STUDY Remembering his type of personality, what one word described Seurat? (ORGANIZER) Listen to the organization that it took to complete this very large painting. He began in the year 1884. He did sixty-two sketches in preparation for painting. The park was on an island where Seurat spent a great deal of time. His friends recall how he was too preoccupied even to greet them as they passed him, sketchbook in hand. He asked the gardeners to cut the grass at the water s edge when it grew too long. He lunched off a bar of chocolate when summer was ending, and he needed to finish his sketches from nature, before autumn brought changes. His sketches were mostly of nature, not of people, as he would add people later as he pleased. He worked throughout the year 1884, continued in 1885, and completed it in 1886. He hung the huge canvas on his studio wall and climbed wooden steps to work on it. 4. ARTIST IN STUDIO No painter worked harder than Seurat. He worked all day long and far into the night. For three long years he concentrated with infinite patience on that single picture. He made preliminary drawings, painted sketches, and worked out effects of light and shadow. Finally it was ready for exhibition. He joined with the Impressionists in 1886 for their eighth and last showing. How do you think the people of Paris received his painting? 5. SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON ISLAND OF GRANDE JATTE The Parisian people hooted with laughter when they walked past that giant canvas of millions of tiny dots. Let s take a closer look, as if we were the Parisians in 1886, examining this strange, new way of painting. Find the lady with the umbrella in the middle holding the little girl s hand. What color is her umbrella? (ORANGE) Let s see if the color changes when we see it close up. 3 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

6. LA GRANDE JATTE - DETAIL Raise your hand if you now see many colors in her umbrella. (YES) If you take a small patch of one color, you will find that is made up of a mass of tiny dots or dashes and that those dots spell out the color. But when we see them from a distance, as we did first, our eye blends the colors together, and we see orange. Where do you see a SHADOW? (SHADOW OF UMBRELLA ON DRESS, SHADOW OF TREE FOLIAGE ON TRUNK, GRASS) We know Seurat was a precise, careful man who left nothing to chance. He studied color theory and knew exactly what to use to create shadows like you see here. Let s find out what he used and why. 7. POINTILLISM Carefully study this chart, and tell me how Seurat made shadows. (HE ADDED THE COMPLEMENTARY COLOR) COMPLEMENTARY COLORS are not close together on the color wheel; they are opposite each other. Name two complementary colors. (RED- GREEN, BLUE-ORANGE, YELLOW-PURPLE) Seurat, the perfectionist, always followed the rules of color theory, and those all started with the colors of nature. Fill in my missing word: Somewhere over the. (RAINBOW) The colors of the rainbow were the ones Seurat used, because they are the true colors of nature. What colors are not in a rainbow that you would expect to see when we mention nature? (BROWN, BLACK; NOTE: WHITE IS NOT A COLOR -- IT IS THE ABSENCE OF COLOR) Seurat would never violate his belief in the purity of the rainbow colors, so he would not use brown or black to create shadows. 8. CIRCUS What is Seurat showing us? (THE CIRCUS) The circus was in Paris, but they didn t perform in huge tents or buildings like we know it. They performed in buildings small enough for a wink to be seen in the back row. Seurat was particularly inspired by Circus Fernando, which still performs in Paris today. The circus was tailor-made for Seurat s type of art. Is a circus colorful? (YES) Does a circus have a mood of happiness? (YES) Let s look for other things that made it perfect for Seurat to paint. There are some very interesting, sort of hidden parts to this painting that I want you to find with my clues. Ready, art detectives? There is a mysterious shape to the horse s mane and tail. Look carefully around the painting to find and count similar shapes. Show me with your fingers approximately how 4 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

many you found. (ABOUT TEN) (Point them out in the slide.) (COLLAR AND CAP ON CLOWN; COSTUME AND HAIR OF GIRL ON HORSE, COAT OF MAN FOUR ROWS FROM TOP IN AUDIENCE, RINGMASTER, WHIP ON FLOOR, HAIR OF ACROBAT, ETC.) What similarity do you see in the acrobat and in the clown behind him? (HANDS WITH FINGERS SPREAD, HAIRSTYLE AND COLOR) Having found the answers to my clues, I want you to put them all together to answer this: Is this a realistic picture of what Seurat saw at the circus, or is this more like a poster advertising a circus? (POSTER) Seurat painted what he saw but did it in his own way, and that meant more than coloring with dots. He loved the circus and wanted anyone who looked at his painting to feel that same way. So he took the freedom to give the painting a magical, childlike joy with his fanciful additions. Did he use mostly warm or cool colors to express this mood? (WARM) We are now going to leave this act of the circus for another attraction. Have you ever been to a sideshow at a circus or carnival? I want you to look at this Seurat painting and decide if the mood is the same as in the Circus. 9. SIDESHOW Raise your hand if the mood is the same. (NO) Give me a word to describe the mood you see here. (MYSTERIOUS, WICKED, UNINVITING) How has Seurat created that mood? Let s first look at the picture. I want you to imagine being out in the nightlife of Paris. People are everywhere, cheerful about going out to have a good time with their friends. As they stroll through the entertainment area of Paris, they have to decide where to go this restaurant? that bright nightclub? the circus in town! What is that man shouting about over there? Let s go closer to see and hear all the excitement. Who can tell me which man in the painting is what we call a barker the man who loudly attracts attention so that people choose to spend their evening at that show. (MAN ON RIGHT IN PROFILE) After the barker has drawn a crowd, the musicians then perform to give the people a small preview of the treats that are in store for them if they pay to go inside for the real show. But let s go back to how you described the mood of this scene. Did it give you a happy, up feeling? (NO) Usually when we think of music, bright lights, and friends together, we feel happy. What happened here? Seurat has changed what is usually a happy feeling and has made an unhappy mood. Let s look carefully to discover how Seurat did that. First, what catches your attention at the top of the picture? (THE LIGHTS) He prominently placed nine lights to shine at night. This was before the time of electricity, so these were gaslights, which gave off a 5 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

mysterious, shimmering light. Is everything brightly lit by these lights? (NO) Some people and objects are obscured by shadow and darkness, giving an eerie feeling when contrasted to the highlighted areas. Besides the mysterious lighting, what else in the painting makes it look eerie or mysterious? (TROMBONE PLAYER: HOODED LIKE WITCH OR WIZARD, STRANGE STONY EXPRESSIONS AND STANCES) Now, let s turn your attention to color. From looking at this distance, is most of the picture painted with intense, bright colors? (NO) Let s see if that is still true as we move in for a close-up view of Seurat s use of color. Focus on the legs of the trombone player on the platform in the middle. 10. SIDESHOW - DETAIL Raise your hand if you see bright colors where you didn t see them from a distance. (YES) Look closely at his dark pants. Do you see any light dots? (YES) Do you remember what two colors he would not use? (BLACK, BROWN) Seurat knew that your eye blends all his multicolored dots from a distance to look like those dark colors. Next, Seurat painted a structure in Paris that the people thought was so ugly at the time that they wanted it torn down! Let s see if Seurat agreed. 11. EIFFEL TOWER What do we call this famous landmark? (EIFFEL TOWER) The Parisians didn t want an ugly tower ruining their landscape. They quickly changed their minds when they began to ride the elevator to the top to enjoy the magnificent views from so high. Do you notice that the top of the tower sort of dissolves into the sky? That s because the top wasn t finished when Seurat painted it. Paris now has a law that no building in central Paris can be built taller than the Eiffel Tower. Raise your hand if you can find a frame around this painting. (YES) What is unusual about the frame? (PAINTED IN POINTILLISM) Seurat did that in several of his paintings. Why? (TIE IT ALL TOGETHER, BLENDS, DOESN T DISTRACT) Seurat lived right in the heart of Paris within walking distance of the circus and the Eiffel Tower. But he preferred to be out in nature, alone, to give his full attention to his precise style of art. This next scene fit his personality well -- quiet, with no people to interrupt. 6 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

12. FISHING FLEET AT PORT-EN-BESSIN He worked very long hours and found his work very difficult. Many times he saw no one for long periods while he was working. There were two reasons for this. First he never regarded his friends and fellow artists as being anywhere as good an artist as he was. Secondly, he was obsessed with the fear that other people would get hold of his ideas and take the credit. So he was a very private man, and that s why we don t know a lot about the details of his life. He would pack up his painting supplies and head off, like the Impressionists, to find beautiful vistas to paint. He traveled to this harbor in the summer of 1888, and he was as careful as any beginner to paint exact details of the scene. Raise your hand if you see long oval shapes in the painting. (YES) Can you tell what those shapes are? (SHADOWS CAST ON THE SEA BY LOW CLOUDS) Is the painting more interesting, because he captured the REFLECTIONS of the clouds? (YES) Do you see any other reflections? (YES: SAILBOATS IN WATER) Who remembers what color Seurat would use to make shadows in blue water? (COMPLEMENT OF BLUE - ORANGE) Where is the HORIZON LINE? (HIGH UP, SEPARATES SKY FROM SEA) When you do your art activity in your classrooms, you will be creating a sailboat scene with reflections, shadows, and a horizon line. And guess what technique you will use, just like Seurat? (POINTILLISM) But here is the good news! We have a shortcut, so you won t exhaust yourselves like Seurat did with his art. CONCLUSION Seurat really did exhaust himself with his pointillism, but unfortunately it went even further than that. In 1891, Seurat and other artists held an exhibition of their work. Seurat did most of the work, organizing, hanging, and publicizing. He was very tired and came down with a bad cold before the exhibition was over, and nine days after it closed, he suddenly died at the very young age of thirty-one years. It was diagnosed as some form of meningitis, and barely two weeks later, his son died of the same illness. At the time of Seurat s death, all of his paintings still hung in his studio, unsold. In total there were seven large pictures and forty small ones. Nine years later, Sunday Afternoon on Island of Grande Jatte was sold when impressionism was very popular, but it did not sell for a high price. The Circus painting was donated to the French Government, but it was accepted with very little enthusiasm. Today it is the only Seurat painting in a Paris museum. Today Sunday Afternoon on Island of Grande Jatte hangs in all its glory in the Art Institute in Chicago as a showpiece for the museum. As you enter the museum, his painting is the first thing you see. A large crowd is always gathered around it, reluctant to move on, as its beauty captivates them. The museum has been offered great sums of money for its return to France but has repeatedly refused the offers. 7 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

REVIEW GAME QUIZ 1.Where was Georges Seurat born? PARIS, FRANCE / Rome, Italy / New York City 2.What is his way of painting with dots called? Realism / POINTILLISM / Sculpture 3.Why did he invent POINTILLISM? WANTED HIS OWN STYLE / Was not good at Realism / He Needed money 4.What two colors would Seurat not use? Black & Brown / Pink & Purple / Orange and Yellow 5.Why would he not use Brown and Black? 6.What does your eye do from a distance in pointillism? 7.Where did Seurat like to go for fun? 8.What is the title of his most famous painting? They are depressing / THEY ARE NOT IN THE RAINBOW / It was hard to find black and brown paint BLENDS COLORS / Separates Colors / Removes Colors Beach, CIRCUS, Video Arcade SUNDAY AFTERNOON/ Monday Morning / Friday Night 9.What colors did he use to paint Circus? Cool Colors / WARM COLORS / Warm and Cool Colors 10.How many years did it take him to paint Sunday Afternoon on Island of Grande Jatte? THREE YEARS, One Year, 10 years 11. What one word describes Seurat s personality Lazy / ORGANIZER / Scattered 13.How did he make shadows? Coloring Darker / Using Yellow / COMPLEMENTARY COLORS 14. With whom did he exhibit his paintings? IMPRESSIONISTS / Realists / Abstract Artists 8 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

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Step 2 - Learning From: Georges Seurat Drawing boats Start with a basic shape. Add a mast. Make it taller than the length of the boat. Put a sail on the mast. Then add it s reflection. A reflection under a boat is the same size, but upside down. It is not as detailed or clear. Draw two sailboats and their reflections in the box below. 10 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

Pointillism Seurat made a science out of color. He knew our eyes blended together dots of different colors. Try blending these colors, as Seurat did, to make a new color. Dots of Dots of Dots of Dots of make a vivid sunset. make n inviting forest. make a cold ocean. make a blazing campfire. Complimentary Colors Instead of using black, Seurat mixed complimentary colors for the shadows in his paintings. Complimentary colors are opposite on the color wheel. Color this boat any color. Using complimentary colors, draw the reflection of the boat. 11 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

The last few pages of this section contain the Art Activity for Georges Seurat. This step-bystep outline will be a guide for instructing your child(ren) through the activity. The parent/instructor should review all steps necessary to complete this project before beginning any work. Cut out the Artist Profile Slip below and attach it to the back of the completed art project. GEORGES SEURAT (ser-ah) French 1859-1891 Seurat said, I painted like that, because I wanted to try something new -- a kind of painting that was my own. The style he invented was Pointillism, and with millions of tiny dots he created masterpieces for the world to enjoy. His most famous painting is Sunday Afternoon in the Park. ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Pointillism, Color Theory, Reflections MEDIA: Sandpaper, Crayon GEORGES SEURAT (ser-ah) French 1859-1891 Seurat said, I painted like that, because I wanted to try something new -- a kind of painting that was my own. The style he invented was Pointillism, and with millions of tiny dots he created masterpieces for the world to enjoy. His most famous painting is Sunday Afternoon in the Park. ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Pointillism, Color Theory, Reflections MEDIA: Sandpaper, Crayon 12 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

Step 3 - Working With: Art Activity Instructions ARTIST Georges Seurat (ser-ah) 1859-1891 French ART ELEMENTS Color, texture TECHNIQUE Texture rubbing VOCABULARY Pointillism, reflection, horizon line, seascape, complementary colors LEVEL Advanced MEDIA Crayon, sandpaper EMPHASIS Seurat s color PRINT The Seine at Le Grande Jatte SUGGESTED MUSIC Impressionistic Music MATERIALS FOR INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENTS One 8½ x 11 sheet of white bond paper (10 to 20 lb. thin paper) One 9 x 12 sheet of blue or orange construction paper (for mounting) Artist profile slip One set of 9 x 10 sheets of coarse (50 or 60-grit) sandpaper (Slightly different sizes will work similarly.) Boxes of crayons Masking tape (for instructor only) Pencil and eraser Glue PREPARATION Construct an example to become familiar with the procedure. Place the print and tape your demonstration papers to the board in front of the room. Place crayons and masking tape nearby. SET-UP [5 minutes] Distribute the materials: SUPPLIES [1] Box of crayons PAPER [4] White bond paper, construction paper, sandpaper, and artist profile slip *Special Note: Have students handle sandpaper very carefully. It is very coarse and prickly; it bends and breaks easily. 13 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

ORIENTATION [5 minutes] Do you remember the name of the artist who created this painting? (Point out the Georges Seurat print.) Seurat was very good at mixing colors. He used many dots together to make areas of color. What is this special technique he invented called? (POINTILLISM) What subjects did Seurat like to paint? (BOATS, PEOPLE RELAXING BY THE RIVER, PETS, LADIES DRESSED UP WITH PARASOLS OR UMBRELLAS) Today you will have a chance to make a seascape using pointillism, just like Georges Seurat. Let s get organized so we can begin. DEMONSTRATION AND ACTIVITY (Have students watch the sketching demonstration and then follow with their materials.) ORGANIZE YOUR WORK AREA [3 minutes] 1.Put your white paper in the center of your desk. You may draw your picture vertically or horizontally. 2.Carefully place your sandpaper, crayons, and pencils on one side. 3.Put your construction paper on the other side. SKETCH A BOATING SCENE [5 minutes] Keep the sketch simple, leave out details, and just show basic shapes. Use VERY LIGHT (just drag the lead across the paper) sketching lines. Use ideas from your Learning Packet or make up your own. 1.First sketch the horizon line. What is a horizon line? (THE LINE THAT SEEMS TO DIVIDE THE LAND AND THE SKY) It is always horizontal. When water meets the horizon, it makes a very straight line. Make it high on the page (demonstrate at least 2/3 to the top), so there will be plenty of room for a boat. 2.Next, add a hilly or a sandy bank and maybe a tree in the foreground. Make it tall enough to intersect the horizon line. 3.Very lightly outline a large sailboat. Draw it high enough so you can show its reflection. 4.Add a second sailboat higher on the paper and smaller to create distance. (When most students have finished their sketch, have all students put their materials down and watch the rest of the demonstration before continuing.) 14 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

THE COLOR DOTS [4 minutes] Do you remember something about Seurat s special color theory? The eye blends dots of colors. Combining dots of primary colors make secondary colors. Adding dots of complementary colors create dark or shadows. Complementary colors are opposite on the color wheel. If you want an area to look green, what colors could you combine? (GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, AND BLUE-GREENS) Did the IMPRESSIONISTS use black? (NO) Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel. Warm colors are red, orange, yellow, and many times green. Cool colors are blue, purple, and sometimes green. To color an area using the pointillist style, it is crucial that the paper be moved on top of the sandpaper each time you change crayons. If time permits, practice this technique with a piece of notebook or scratch paper. COLOR FOREGROUND, TREE, AND BOATS [10 minutes] 1.Place your sandpaper in the center of your desk, with your sketch on top of it. 2.Start with the foreground and tree. Use many overlapping colors. Color the boat and reflection next using warm colors. 3.Rub over an area using the flat end of the crayon. Use GENTLE pressure so that only LIGHT dots appear. Hold the crayon upright. 4.Then lift and move the paper slightly. Choose another color, and color very lightly over the same area again. Do this several times for each area that you color. 5.The boat will stand out against the cool water. The sails can remain white if you chose. The boat will be colored with at least three warm colors using different concentrations of colors to create shadow and highlight. Remember that the reflection will be the same colors. 6.Some students will want to outline the shapes. Keep this to a minimum. Hold their artwork six to eight feet away and have them evaluate if they really need outlining. Most won t. 15 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

COLOR THE WATER [5 minutes] 1.Use the cool colors to create the water. 2.The water will be darkest at the horizon line. 3.When the water is all colored, choose one cool (water) color and lightly go over the entire REFLECTION to help it blend into the water slightly. COLOR THE SKY [3 minutes] 1.Use warm or cool colors to create the sky. Use warm colors for a sunrise or sunset; use cool colors for a sunny day. The sky will be darkest at the top of the paper. 2.Vary concentrations. For example: The water may end up more green, the sky more violet. SHADING [3 to 5 minutes] 1.Decide from what direction the light is coming. Remember, everything facing the light will be light; everything not facing the light will be in shadow. 2.Put dots of dark colors or complements in the shadowed places. Add some bright dots in the light places. MOUNT YOUR IMPRESSIONIST SEASCAPE [3 minutes] 1.Turn your picture over and place ONE dot of glue in each corner. 2.Turn it upright again and place the picture in the middle of the colored paper like a frame. Make sure the edges are nice and straight. Press gently on each corner. MOUNTING THE ARTIST PROFILE SLIP [2 minutes] (Profile slips for each artist are provided. They give a brief description of the artist, the technique, and the media used in the art activity. They should be mounted on the back of each art project after it is completed.) 1.Write your name on the front of the artist profile slip. 2.Using glue, mount the profile slip on the back of your artwork. 3.Encourage students to discuss their artwork at home using this artist slip of information. 16 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

CONCLUSION You beautifully used crayons and the points of your sandpaper to create your pointillism paintings. What is the name of the master artist who invented pointillism? (GEORGES SEURAT) He would be very proud of your masterpieces! GUIDANCE Stress using large shapes, as detail is difficult with this technique. Stress GENTLE application of pressure on the crayon. If the first color is applied too heavily, the other colors will not show. The effect should be layer-upon-layer of dots. *This project is not appropriate for laminating, as it melts! THIS CONCLUDES THE GEORGES SEURAT UNIT. 17 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition