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"Circus" by Georges Seurat

The painting “Circus” was painted in an unusual way. Not strokes, but very small dots. So its creator, Georges Seurat, wanted to bring science to painting. He was guided by the popular theory of his time that nearby pure colors mix in the eye of the viewer. Therefore, the palette is no longer needed.

Read about the painting in the article “7 Post-Impressionist Masterpieces in the Musée d'Orsay”.

site “Diary of painting. In each picture there is a story, a fate, a mystery.”

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Georges Seurat. The circus. 1890 Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

The painting "Circus" is very unusual. After all, it is written with dots. In addition, Seurat used only 3 primary colors and a few additional colors.

The fact is that Seurat decided to bring science to painting. He relied on the theory of optical mixing. It says that the pure colors placed side by side are already mixed in the eye of the viewer. That is, they do not need to be mixed on the palette.

This method of painting is called pointillism (from the French word pointe - point).

Please note that the people in the painting "Circus" are more like puppets.

This is not because they are depicted with dots. Seurat deliberately simplified faces and figures. So he created timeless images. As the Egyptians did, depicting a person very schematically.

When it was necessary, Sera could draw a person completely “alive”. Even dots.

"Circus" by Georges Seurat
Georges Seurat. Powdery girl. 1890. Courtauld Gallery, London.

Seurat died at 32 from diphtheria. Suddenly. He never had time to complete his "Circus".

Pointillism, which Seurat invented, did not last long. The artist had almost no followers.

Is that an impressionist Camille Pissarro for several years he became interested in pointillism. But then he returned to impressionism.

"Circus" by Georges Seurat
Camille Pissarro. Peasant woman at the mirror. 1888. Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Also a follower of Seurat is Paul Signac. Although this is not entirely true. He took only the style of the artist. He created paintings with the help of dots (or rather strokes similar to large dots).

"Circus" by Georges Seurat

But! At the same time, he used any shades, and not 3 primary colors, like Georges Seurat.

He violated the basic principle of mixing colors. That is, he simply used the original aesthetics of pointillism.

Well, it turned out really nice.

"Circus" by Georges Seurat
Paul Signac. Pine tree in Saint-Tropez. 1909. Pushkin Museum, Moscow.

Georges Seurat was a genius. After all, he could see into the future! His pictorial method miraculously embodied many years later in ... a television transmission of the image.

It is multi-colored dots, pixels, that make up the picture not only of the TV, but also of any of our gadgets.

Looking at your smartphone, now you may remember Georges Seurat and his "Circus".

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