Masterpiece: “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”

Artist: Georges Seurat

(Zhorzh, Suh-rah) 1859-1891

Concept: Pointillism & “Optical Mixing”

Lesson: Pointillism Technique Using Tempera Paint
________________________________________________

Objectives: A. Students will learn a different style of painting called

Pointillism
B. How our eyes see color; “optical mixing”

Vocabulary: Pointillism, Color, Impressionism, Brushstrokes vs. Dots,

“Optical Mixing”

Project Materials:
• White drawing paper 8” x 10”
• Q-Tips
• Pencils
• Red, yellow and blue tempera paint
• Water dishes
• Paper towels

** Please Note **
The “pointillism” technique can be a painstaking process. Tell the students it’s
best to keep their drawing simple, so that they have time to finish.

The artist’s “blurb” can be mounted on a 9” x 12” piece of colored construction

paper ahead of time.

** Troubleshooting Thoughts **
Keep in mind the lesson is not about color mixing it’s about optical mixing. Make
sure the students understand they need to overlap the primary colored dots next
to each other in order to create a secondary color.
Process:
1. Give each student one piece of drawing paper and use their pencil to draw a
picture.
2. Have them sketch a simple image for example a flower, tree, a butterfly,
an apple, a rainbow etc.
3. Make sure the image is large enough in size to fill the paper 8” x 10” sheet.
4. Once they have completed drawing their image have them fill in the
drawing with dots of paint using only primary colors red, yellow and blue.
5. Using only one color at a time, have the students apply paint with Q-Tips.
Give the students at least 1 Q-Tip for each color.
6. Secondary colors may be made by overlapping colors. For example, red dots
pressed first on the paper then yellow pressed over it will make orange,
applying blue next to yellow will make green, and red and blue will make
purple when colors are overlapped.
7. Make sure the students understand the color mixing is done by the
application of the paint dots and not mixing the paint.
8. Make sure they sign their name and encourage students to title their art.
9. Let dry overnight and mount on 9” x 12” colored construction paper when
complete.
10. Most important Have Fun! Remember it took Seurat two years to complete
Sunday Afternoon at the Park!
4th GRADE--PROJECT #2
Artist: Georges Seurat
Masterpiece: Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
Lesson: Pointillism/Tempura

Project Sample:
 Art Masterpiece

Georges Seurat (1859-1891)

Today in Art Masterpiece we studied French Pointillist artist Georges Seurat and his Masterpiece
“Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte ”. Seurat studied the scientific approach to
color and devised a system to capture light, shadow and shades of color by juxtaposing dots of
pure color on the canvas, making his paintings unique. Your young artist made a Pointillist
Masterpiece in the style of Seurat. We enjoyed sharing with your child. Please ask him/her about
what he/she learned and created in Art Masterpiece.

Art Masterpiece

Georges Seurat (1859-1891)

Today in Art Masterpiece we studied French Pointillist artist Georges Seurat and his Masterpiece
“Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte ”. Seurat studied the scientific approach to
color and devised a system to capture light, shadow and shades of color by juxtaposing dots of
pure color on the canvas, making his paintings unique. Your young artist made a Pointillist
Masterpiece in the style of Seurat. We enjoyed sharing with your child. Please ask him/her about
what he/she learned and created in Art Masterpiece.
 GEORGES SEURAT
(1859 – 1891)

Georges Seurat was born in Paris, France in 1859. His family was very
comfortable financially so he was never forced to work for a living
and was able to pursue his interest in art at a very early age. He first
he studied sculpture and then was admitted to a school of art at the
age of 17. He spent a great deal of time at the Louvre copying art of
famous painters.

He was widely read and was interested in the scientific theories on

the uses and effects of color and light. He began by exploring
aspects of light in white and black drawings. Seurat was as much a
scientist as an artist. He tried to establish a system to achieve the
vibrant colors that the Impressionists used. The method he came up
with was to place small touches of unmixed color side by side on the
canvas. This meant that the eye mixed the colors as the painting was
observed.

Seurat began to paint using this method. This technique became

known as “pointillism”. Seurat applied his paint in thousands of tiny
dots. His spots of color might have been squares, triangles, circles or
tiny lines. Seurat preferred using the work “divisionism” to describe
this technique.

Seurat’s work was very influential. However, his followers never

achieved the skill he had. He planned his pictures with extraordinary
care. Seurat died very suddenly at the age of 31 in 1891, apparently
from meningitis. He left behind over four hundred drawings, six
completed sketchbooks and about sixty canvases, five of them very
large. He was survived by his wife and a year-old son.
What is Pointillism?

Pointillism is a technique of painting in which many tiny dots

are combined to form a picture. The reason for doing
pointillism instead of a picture with physical mixing is that,
supposedly, physically mixing colors dulls them. Most of the
painters of Seurat's time blended the colors to make a
picture with a smoother feeling than Seurat's bright, dotty
works.

When two colors are right next to each other your eye mixes
them in a process called, "optical mixing." Using optical
mixing rather than physical mixing can create a brighter
picture. Painting a pointillist piece is a slow and painstaking
process. Seurat's famous, “Sunday Afternoon on the Island
of La Grande Jatte,” more commonly known as "Sunday in the
Park". This painting is so large it covers a wall 81 inches by
120 inches, that’s 7 feet by 10 feet!! It took him two years
to complete this masterpiece. He was known for amazing
devotion and concentration. The dots in a pointillist painting
can be as small as 1/16 of an inch in diameter! Based on these
measurements, "Sunday in the Park" has approximately
3,456,000 dots!