Georges Seurat spent over two years painting ‘A Sunday on La Grande Jatte’ (1884-86) 81.3/4 inches x 121.1/4 inches when he was only 26 years old. In this famous painting the artist depicts people relaxing in a suburban park on an island in the Seine River called La Grande Jatte focusing meticulously on the landscape of the park. Seurat worked on the canvas in several campaigns, beginning in 1884 with a layer of small horizontal brushstrokes of complementary colours. He later added small dots that appear as solid and glowing forms when seen from a distance. This technique was subsequently called Pointillism.

The artist passed away at the age of 31. Although he painted other notable canvases, this painting remained his classic achievement. Frederic Clay Bartlett purchased the painting in 1924 and placed it at the Art Institute of Chicago where it has hung ever since. — M.I.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 14th, 2014