Study for "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte"
This small panel is one of approximately fifty oil sketches and drawings made as preparatory studies for Seurat’s monumental masterpiece, A Sunday on La Grand Jatte. Painted from 1884–86, the scene depicts Parisians at leisure on an island in the Seine. Illustrating Seurat’s process of investigation, the figures in the present panel were significantly transformed in the final painting. Seurat’s style came to be known as Pointillism (from the French word “point,” or “dot”), but he preferred the term divisionism—the principle of separating color into small touches placed side-by-side and meant to blend in the eye of the viewer.
Artwork Details
- Title: Study for "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte"
- Artist: Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris)
- Date: 1884
- Medium: Oil on wood
- Dimensions: 6 1/8 × 9 1/2 in. (15.6 × 24.1 cm)
Framed: 13 1/8 × 17 in. (33.3 × 43.2 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
- Object Number: 1975.1.207
- Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Georges Seurat
ca. 1875
Georges Seurat
ca. 1875
Georges Seurat
1882–83
Georges Seurat
1881–84
Georges Seurat
1884
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Showing 4 of 6
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.