Here are some facts about Georges Seurat.
- Georges Seurat was born on 2nd December, 1859 in Paris, France.
- He studied art at the Ecole Municipale de Sculpture et Dessin, and he continued his training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (where Henri Lehmann, a famous portraitist, was one of the tutors).
- From 1879 to 1880 completed a year of military service.
- He finished his first major painting – Bathers at Asnieres – in 1883.
- In 1884 Georges Seurat started to paint A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. He finished the work in 1886. The painting is a work of pointillism. The image is constructed from thousands of tiny dots of paint, allowing the viewer’s eyes to blend the colours, even though they are not blended in the painting itself.
- In 1890 Georges Seurat painted four canvases and several drawings by the coast at Gravelines (in northern France). His work from this period included: The Channel of Gravelines and Petit Fort Philippe.
- Georges Seurat died at the age of just 31 on 29th March 1891. The cause of death is uncertain, but it could have been meningitis, pneumonia or diphtheria.
- He left his final piece of work, The Circus, unfinished.
- Many people consider Georges Seurat to be one of the most important Post-Impressionist artists.
- During his short career, Seurat completed seven full size paintings, about 40 small paintings, and hundreds of drawings and sketches.
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