Group of Figures (Study for "Un dimanche à la Grande Jatte")

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

In preparation for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (Art Institute of Chicago; 1886), Seurat made frequent excursions to this island spot in the river Seine. Unlike the final painting which features the artist's renowned pointillist technique of unmixed complementary colors, this oil study, one of 24 made in preparation, was executed quickly using crisscross brushwork and color likely mixed on the palette. Among the few elements seen here that appear in A Sunday on La Grande Jatte are the tree with a bend in its trunk at left, the dark green shadows reaching toward the river, and the little girl in white.

Source ↗