The film I warned you about!
Ok, interesting film, unaware of why the entire film resolved around one paintings, but it's a pretty darn great painting.
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte - 1884
This piece painted by Georges Seurat is a master piece that has been studied for years. How do you understand this painting? Where do you begin? The film takes you through the painting and begins to dissect the potential meaning of the multiple scenes associated inside the one large piece. Seurat started painting at the age of 18, once beginning his studies he started to sketch live people. His studying would not last long for he was called off to the military. One piece that came prior to A Sunday on La Grande Jatte was Bathers at Asnieres.
This piece is equal in size to A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, it also lets you peek into his next painting showing the island of La Grande in the background. The beauty of these paintings is that they are created by using small precise strokes, creating a "dot" affect to create these paintings. To provide a broader around each individual instead of a "dot" Seurat used strokes. But why would he use these methods to paint? These techniques were called plot-ism, the layers of color were to make the color appear more vibrant, and vibrant is exact how the painting appeared.
I have seen this piece before in ads and on commercials. Society has embraced A Sunday on La Grande Jatte as a great piece of satire. An artist in Columbus, Ohio created a garden replicating the 12 ft figures. Another piece came from Stephen Sondheim that created a musical-Sunday in the park with George- showing the struggle and cost of art on those who paint it. In 1900 Chicago had the greatest of luck procuring this masterpiece. Fredrick Clay Barlett purchased the painting for $20,000 and installed it in the Chicago Art Institute. France later realized what painting it had lost and has attempted to pay millions to procure the painting.
"truly great French master-piece that is not in France,"
The painting went on one trip, to New York. During this visit the New York Museum of Modern Art caught fire; the painting will never leave Chicago again.
Many have their skepticism of the meaning behind these paintings but we will never know for sure for Georges Seurat passed of pneumonia prior to telling anyone the true meaning. I like the mystery! It keeps you guessing and ever studying it for it's endless possibilities.
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