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Seurat and La Grande Jatte: Connecting the Dots
An analysis of Georges Seurat's famous painting, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, including where and when it was made, interesting details, and the techniques used to create a sense of stillness.
31 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2004
About the author
Robert Burleigh
74 books47 followersOver the past 35 years, I have published poems, reviews, essays, many filmstrips and videos, and more than 40 children's picture books.
Born and raised in Chicago, I graduated from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) and later received an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago. I've published books for children since the early 1990s. My books - including numerous unpublished ones! - run a broad gamut, from stories geared for pre-schoolers to survival stories and biographies aimed at seven to eleven-year-olds. My work is wide-ranging because, basically, I'm a generalist by experience - and inclination!
In addition to writing, I paint regularly under the art name Burleigh Kronquist and have shown work in one-person and group shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere around the country.
-from robertburleigh.com
Born and raised in Chicago, I graduated from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) and later received an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago. I've published books for children since the early 1990s. My books - including numerous unpublished ones! - run a broad gamut, from stories geared for pre-schoolers to survival stories and biographies aimed at seven to eleven-year-olds. My work is wide-ranging because, basically, I'm a generalist by experience - and inclination!
In addition to writing, I paint regularly under the art name Burleigh Kronquist and have shown work in one-person and group shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere around the country.
-from robertburleigh.com
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 16, 2021
The park is called La Grande Latte. It lies in the Seine, the famous river that cuts Paris into two halves. It is a sunny Sunday in 1884. This is a time when most people worked six long days a week and were quite happy to have Sunday off. So for some Parisians, Sunday was a day to escape from the heat of the city and head for the shade of trees and the cool breezes off the river.
A strange stillness. an almost eerie silence. A sense of mystery. Feelings like these hover over the entire painting. Nearly everyone appears to be quite alone. alone. Quiet. Absorbed by something.
The painting is created using a style called pointillism (painting with dots). Think how light dazzles and sparkles on a sunny day. Sometimes it is so strong you have to blink or rub your eyes. That's a bit like what's happening here. The dots help us to see light bouncing off objects. The people in the painting may not be moving, but the dots seem to be. This vibrating color makes the surface of the painting more interesting, more likely, more fun to gaze at and to try to figure out. The dots are one of the elements that make La Grande Jatte so special.
Georges was a careful painter. He thought about many things in composing his paintings. "Art is harmony," he once remarked. He explained that harmon comes about when an artist is able to balance shapes and colours so that all the parts of a painting work together. The tree trunks, standing like columns throughout the picture: they seem to hold up the painting from within because they are so straight and tall. The curved shapes of parasols are placed across the composition, repeating themselves one after the other - like a line all the way across the painting.
A group of artists in France at the same time as Seurat were called Impressionists. They frequently painted outdoors, where they made impressions, or quick sketches, of the scenes in front of them. They were interested in views of modern life, rather than in old-fashioned subjects based on mythology or history.
Georges was very interested in colours. He noticed how certain colours, placed side by side, make one color "stand out," or appear stronger. Georges worked slowly, almost more like a scientist than an artist.
A strange stillness. an almost eerie silence. A sense of mystery. Feelings like these hover over the entire painting. Nearly everyone appears to be quite alone. alone. Quiet. Absorbed by something.
The painting is created using a style called pointillism (painting with dots). Think how light dazzles and sparkles on a sunny day. Sometimes it is so strong you have to blink or rub your eyes. That's a bit like what's happening here. The dots help us to see light bouncing off objects. The people in the painting may not be moving, but the dots seem to be. This vibrating color makes the surface of the painting more interesting, more likely, more fun to gaze at and to try to figure out. The dots are one of the elements that make La Grande Jatte so special.
Georges was a careful painter. He thought about many things in composing his paintings. "Art is harmony," he once remarked. He explained that harmon comes about when an artist is able to balance shapes and colours so that all the parts of a painting work together. The tree trunks, standing like columns throughout the picture: they seem to hold up the painting from within because they are so straight and tall. The curved shapes of parasols are placed across the composition, repeating themselves one after the other - like a line all the way across the painting.
A group of artists in France at the same time as Seurat were called Impressionists. They frequently painted outdoors, where they made impressions, or quick sketches, of the scenes in front of them. They were interested in views of modern life, rather than in old-fashioned subjects based on mythology or history.
Georges was very interested in colours. He noticed how certain colours, placed side by side, make one color "stand out," or appear stronger. Georges worked slowly, almost more like a scientist than an artist.
March 10, 2023
This book is a wonderful introduction to one of Georges Seurat's most famous paintings, "La Grande Jatte". Seurat's painting shows people at a famous park in Paris in 1884. This book is written for children to imagine what is going on in the painting. Georges Seurat introduced a new way of painting called pointillism, which means that instead of using brush strokes, he used dots. It took him about a year to paint this huge picture. Seurat was painting during the time of the Impressionists painters and was known among them. This picture is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
June 25, 2023
Lovely book, lovely narrative.
Written for children, but presents such an informative overview of Seurat and his masterpiece that the book will be enjoyed by anyone.
Favorite illustration: Robert Sivard's "Imaginary Painting of George Seurat in His Studio"
Read this after reading Irving Stone's "Lust for Life" -- about Van Gogh. The two tie together nicely.
Written for children, but presents such an informative overview of Seurat and his masterpiece that the book will be enjoyed by anyone.
Favorite illustration: Robert Sivard's "Imaginary Painting of George Seurat in His Studio"
Read this after reading Irving Stone's "Lust for Life" -- about Van Gogh. The two tie together nicely.
June 14, 2017
I love this painting, and this book written for young readers does a good job of introducing the artist, his interesting artistic style, and this painting.
May 25, 2018
love helping children learn about art, and about Seurat, in the way.
April 20, 2026
It's a kid's book really ... but a good one.
March 3, 2012
This book is a rather clunky view of Seurat's painting, "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte," the famous work on display in Chicago's Art Institute. Although the book goes into great detail as to what is in the painting and how it was created, the format of the text is not reader-friendly, with little organization and no subheadings. This book could be a useful resource for grades 5-8 in an art unit studying famous works of art, or during an interdisicplinary unit studying famous painters and their contributions. Since the Art Institute has the original, a followup fieldtrip would a nice complement for this book. However, a more user-friendly book could probably be found.
October 14, 2013
An excellent look at Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grade Jatte--1884" for children (and adults who want to learn more!) The information and writing style are accessible for children: the beginning is almost like an "Eye Spy" book and the tone is friendly. Children will wonder and predict why Seurat made certain choices in the piece. Photos and artwork included enhance the text. Excellent back matter included. I think it could have been organized better with more nonfiction text features (headings, subheadings, etc.) to improve the flow of the narrative.
August 20, 2010
One of my favorite paintings, a fine analysis of it that is very approachable.
May 9, 2014
This book brought out some interesting aspects of the painting.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews