Seurat's Creative Process

The key element that distinguished Seurat's creative process from that of the Impressionists was Seurat's lack of spontaneity. Impressionist paintings often gave the appearance of being rough and unfinished (The name Impressionism was spawned when a critic wrote that Monet’s painting looked like a mere impression and not like a finished painting.) Their work reflected the spontaneity of daily life. Though Impressionist painters sometimes did plan their paintings beforehand, the creative process for Impressionists was generally spontaneous; a painter would sit down and paint the scene before him.

Seurat, on the other hand, painted with an almost scientific method of experimentation. He created his art through principled applications of color and meticulous planning. To create Bathers and Grand Jatte, for example, Seurat drew dozens of studies in an Impressionistic, broad brush-stroked style. What Seurat called preliminary studies, many Impressionists would have considered finished works. Seurat studied the posture of his figures in crayon drawings, tested color schemes in watercolor, and perfected the arrangement of his figures in oil studies. Even during the painting of a final version, Seurat would create studies to perfect his work. Whereas it may have taken Impressionists from a day to a few weeks to finish a painting, it took Seurat months to finish a major work.