Oil Sketch for "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884"

A compact oil sketch reveals how Seurat built the famous park scene before its pointillist finish.

What to notice

Compare this compact oil sketch with the famous finished park scene: broad blocks establish the riverbank, trees, and figures before pointillist detail takes over.

Discover

This small oil on thin wood panel is one of over 20 painted studies Georges Seurat made for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884 . Although at first glance its composition seems similar to the finished canvas, its 20 or more figures have little to do with the final version. The trio at right with an elderly seated figure, for example, was completely rethought in the completed work, where they are replaced by a man in a top hat and a woman walking a monkey on a leash. This ironic combination of grand solemnity and wry…