Seurat: A Woman With A Parasol (FIG)

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One of the most recognizable figures of the Grande Jatte is the standing woman with the monkey. Woman with a Parasol (FIG. 16) is the earliest representation of her. It's a small panel which focuses entirely on her. In it, she is dressed in blue and white, with an orange hat and an umbrella which nearly disappears entirely into the tree trunks. This is very different than her final appearance in the Grande Jatte, where she appears along with a man in a more muted dress and positioned closer to the trees. Additionally, the monkey is nowhere to be seen. It is not known if this woman originated as a studio model. Certainly, Seurat must have had some family or friends pose as models at some point or another, but this woman could easily have been …show more content…

This is very apparent in Seven Monkeys (FIG. 21). In this sketch, Seurat draws seven different angles and position for the monkey (if you refer to FIG. 19 and 20, you can see Seurat painted the monkey in the final stage of the final painting, but in the initial stage of the compositional study--he knew he wanted a monkey, he just did not know how he wanted to paint it). In Skirt (FIG. 22), Seurat only focuses on the bustle of the monkey woman's dress, detailing the curves and lines of the cloth. In Nurse (FIG. 23), Seurat sketches the nurse and her companion. These are tiny figures in the final composition, but this is yet another example of Seurat methodically planning each and every element of his painting. In fact, Seurat transferred elements from drawings and studies to the compositional study and from the compositional study to the final painting using a grid system. Recent discoveries by art historians discovered the presence of the grid system: "The grid structure of La Grande Jatte....divides the composition evenly into twenty-four squares of one-half meter each. The uniform sections would have provided a system to facilitate enlargement and transfer...the vertical lines also may have served as axes for the positioning of significant compositional features." This careful, precise measurement and planning separates him …show more content…

The Grand Jatte is a beautifully crafted, rehearsed masterpiece. For Seurat, it was a two-year learning experience in painting. As a short-lived student of the École des Beaux-Arts, he never formally learned much about painting. Instead, on his own, he sat and observed the world around him, drawing constantly. He was inspired by naturalist painters and eventually Impressionist colors. Seurat was not a traditional painter, and yet he admired and studied the tradition of painting. The Grande Jatte represents Seurat at his best and hints at a lost long career of

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