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Home , Georges Seurat, Pointillism

Artist of the Week:

Lived: 1859-1891

About the Artist Georges Seurat was a Post-Impressionist (also called a “Neo-Impressionist”/“New Impressionist”) French painter. Although he spent time working with Impressionist painters, his ideas and studies about color eventually lead to him developing a method of that he is known for: . This way of painting relies on only using dots of color- and since they are placed so close together, you eye blurs them into an image! Instead of blending colors like blue and , he placed the dots so close together that it tricks your brain into thinking it’s green. Science!

A closeup of the man in the painting .

The image below of Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte is a great example of what a pointillism would look like from far away. In person this painting is actually HUGE: it is about 7 feet by 10 feet!

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte,

Home Project: Observe and Create Art

Give your child a chance to observe the picture above. Ask your child to observe this picture. What do they see? What is this a painting of? The artist made lots of dots to create this painting- what kinds of colors do they notice? How did the artist make the tower look different from the background? Does it look different when you see if from far away? Create The Pointillism Painting Using Q-Tips [Remember: Creating art at this age is more process versus product. It is alright if your child’s picture looks different than you expect- this is their interpretation!]

You Will Need: • Paper • Paint [Try for primary colors (Red/Blue/Yellow) if possible] • Something to put your paint on • Q-tips (at least one for each color) • Pencil Instructions: • Prepare your project space. Gathering all your materials in advance makes for an easier art experience!

• Use your pencil to sketch a very basic outline of your Eiffel Tower- this could be either done in advance by an adult or by an older child. This will help to see where your dots will go.

• Begin by choosing a color and dip one end of the Q-tip in the paint. Use the Q-tips to make small individual dots throughout the painting where you want that color to be. The hardest part is only using dots to fill in your space instead of making brush strokes/lines! • Let dry when complete.

Source Information: George Seurat Facts for Kids https://kids.kiddle.co/Georges_Seurat

George Seurat- The https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/georges-seurat

Pointillism- Ducksters https://www.ducksters.com/history/art/pointillism.php