Step 1 - Introducing the Georges Seurat Slideshow Guide

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2 Step 1 - Introducing the Georges Seurat Slideshow Guide BEGIN READING HERE MOTIVATION Have you ever done a dot-to-dot page in a coloring book? What happens when you connect the numbered dots? (MAKE A PICTURE, OUTLINE) After you ve connected the outline, then you color it in to complete the picture. Now imagine this! Instead of just connecting dots to form an outline for a picture, the entire picture is made up of dots, millions and millions of them, so small it would be impossible to count or even guess how many there were! What do you think that would look like? Try to imagine millions of colored dots forming a picture. Would it be beautiful or ridiculous looking? Would it be confusing or peaceful? Our artist today, Georges Seurat, invented a new way of painting with dots. Why would anyone want to paint in such an unusual and time-consuming way? First, let s meet Georges Seurat and have him answer that question in his own words. Click Start Lesson To Begin DEVELOPMENT 1. PHOTO OF ARTIST Seurat said, I painted like that, because I wanted to try something new a kind of painting that was my own. It was definitely Seurat s own style and his own invention. Look carefully at this photo of Seurat and give me a one-word description of his personality. Look past his outward appearance to describe him. (TAKE SEVERAL RESPONSES) Let s see if you are right. Would this style of art take a lot of patience? (YES) Would it take a lot of willpower to stay with such a long process? (YES) That begins to tell you something of the personality of Georges Seurat. People who knew him said he was not an easy man to know. He was a tall man, very shy and timid but with great energy. He was described as peaceful but incredibly stubborn. You expected him to be frightened of everything, but he was afraid of nothing. A friend was asked to describe him in one word, just as you did. After thinking a short while, he picked the word, organizer. In art, Seurat left nothing to luck or chance; he planned everything. He never started a painting without knowing exactly what he was going to do, down to the last flick of the paintbrush in signing the finished canvas. 1 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

3 Now that you know something of the type of man who invented this new way of painting with dots, let s take a look at his most famous painting. 2. SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON ISLAND OF GRANDE JATTE Raise your hand if you can see the dots. (YES) As you can tell, the entire picture is made up of dots, millions and millions of dots. An artist puts a dot of paint on a canvas with the point of his brush. This style of art is called POINTILLISM. Seurat dedicated himself to the mastery of color. At school he had learned to draw lines. Now he began to make drawings that had no lines, only many values of color. Like the Impressionists, he painted the world around him, the people of Paris, landscapes, sunshine, and reflections in water. But unlike the others, he was not interested in catching that passing moment as colors change. He wanted to show permanence and exactness. Impressionists like Monet painted as quickly as they could to capture the way a color looked for that moment. Out of Monet s quick dots and dashes, Seurat developed a science. He, too, painted in dabs of color but in thousands upon thousands of dots, like confetti. By looking at this painting, what day of the week do you think it could be? (SUNDAY) That is part of the title, Sunday Afternoon on Island of Grande Jatte. Seurat shows us one of the parks outside of Paris, France. Seurat was born in Paris, and as a young boy he lived near a grand park with lakes, mountains, and many fun things to do. He saw many different types of people at the park who came to enjoy themselves. This fond memory from his childhood was the setting he chose for this great masterpiece. 3. LA GRANDE JATTE - STUDY Remembering his type of personality, what one word described Seurat? (ORGANIZER) Listen to the organization that it took to complete this very large painting. He began in the year He did sixty-two sketches in preparation for painting. The park was on an island where Seurat spent a great deal of time. His friends recall how he was too busy even to greet them as they passed him, sketchbook in hand. He asked the gardeners to cut the grass at the water s edge when it grew too long. He lunched off a bar of chocolate when summer was ending, and he needed to finish his sketches from nature, before autumn brought changes. His sketches were mostly of nature, not of people, as he would add people later as he pleased. 2 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

4 He worked throughout the year 1884, continued in 1885, and completed it in He hung the huge canvas on his studio wall and climbed wooden steps to work on it. 4. ARTIST IN STUDIO No painter worked harder than Seurat. He worked all day long and far into the night. For three long years he concentrated with infinite patience on that single picture. He made preliminary drawings, painted sketches, and worked out effects of light and shadow. Finally the painting was ready for exhibition. He joined with the Impressionists in 1886 for their eighth and last showing. 5. SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON ISLAND OF GRANDE JATTE The Parisian people hooted with laughter when they walked past that giant canvas of millions of tiny dots. Let s take a closer look, as if we were the Parisians in 1886, examining this strange, new way of painting. Find the lady with the umbrella in the middle holding the little girl s hand. What color is her umbrella? (ORANGE) Let s see if the color changes when we see it close up. 6. LA GRANDE JATTE - DETAIL Raise your hand if you now see many colors in her umbrella. (YES) If you take a small patch of one color, you will find that is made up of a mass of tiny dots or dashes and that those dots spell out the color. But when we see them from a distance, as we did first, our eye blends the colors together, and we see orange. Seurat, the perfectionist, always followed the rules of color theory, and those rules all started with the colors of nature. Fill in my missing word that has something to do with nature and with color. Somewhere over the. (RAINBOW) What colors are not in a rainbow that you think you would use to paint a tree trunk or a dark shadow? (BROWN, BLACK) Seurat would not use brown or black, so how did he paint a tree trunk? Look carefully at the tree trunk in this close-up view. Raise your hand if you see many different dots of color. (YES) That s how Seurat created brown -- by carefully choosing dots placed next to each other that blend together when you see them from a distance. 3 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

5 Seurat loved to paint outdoor scenes as in Sunday Afternoon on Island of Grande Jatte. But he loved to be entertained and have fun, too. Let me show you one of his favorite places to go. Maybe it s one of your favorites, too. 7. CIRCUS Where did Seurat love to go? (THE CIRCUS) The circus was in Paris, but they didn t perform in huge tents or buildings like we know it. They performed in buildings small enough for a wink to be seen in the back row. The circus was perfect for Seurat s type of art. Is a circus colorful? (YES) Does a circus have a mood of happiness? (YES) Let s look for other things that made it perfect for Seurat to paint. There are some very interesting, sort of hidden parts to this painting that you can find with my clues. Ready, art detectives? There is a mysterious shape to the horse s tail. Look carefully around the painting and see how many similar shapes you can find. Show me with your fingers approximately how many you found. (ABOUT TEN) (Point them out in the slide.) (COLLAR AND CAP ON CLOWN; COSTUME AND HAIR OF GIRL ON HORSE, COLLAR OF MAN FOUR ROWS FROM TOP IN AUDIENCE, WHIP ON FLOOR, HAIR OF ACROBAT, ETC.) What similarity do you see in the acrobat and in the clown behind him? (HANDS WITH FINGERS SPREAD, HAIRSTYLE AND COLOR) Having found the answers to my clues, I want you to put them all together to answer this: Is this a realistic picture of what Seurat saw at the circus, or is this more like a poster advertising a circus? (POSTER) Seurat painted what he saw but did it with his own way, and that meant more than coloring with dots. He loved the circus and wanted anyone who looked at his painting to feel that same way. So he gave the painting a magical, childlike joy with his fanciful additions. Did he use mostly warm or cool colors to express this mood? (WARM) We are now going to leave this act of the circus for another attraction. Have you ever been to a sideshow at a circus or carnival? Let s see what it was like in the late 1800s. 4 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

6 8. SIDESHOW I want you to imagine being out in the nightlife of Paris. People are everywhere, cheerful about going out to have a good time with their friends. As they stroll through the entertainment area of Paris, they have to decide where to go this restaurant? that bright nightclub? the circus in town! What is that man shouting about over there? Let s go closer to see and hear the excitement. Who can tell me which man in the painting is what we call a barker the man who loudly attracts attention so that people choose to spend their evening at that show. (MAN ON RIGHT IN PROFILE) After the barker has drawn a crowd, the musicians then perform to give the people a small preview of the treats that are in store for them if they pay to go inside for the real show. Raise your hand if you found the barker (RIGHT SIDE) and the musicians (LEFT SIDE, MIDDLE). Does this look like a show you would be tempted to see? Now, let s turn our attention to color. From looking at this distance, is most of the picture painted with intense, bright colors? (NO) Let s see if that is still true as we move in for a close-up view of Seurat s use of color. Focus on the legs of the trombone player on the platform in the middle. 9. SIDESHOW - DETAIL Raise your hand if you see bright colors where you didn t see them from a distance. (YES) Look closely at his dark pants. Do you see any light dots? (YES) Do you remember what two colors he would not use? (BLACK, BROWN) Seurat knew that your eye blends all his multicolored dots from a distance to look like those dark colors. Next, Seurat painted a structure in Paris that the people thought was so ugly at the time that they wanted it torn down! Let s see if Seurat agreed. 5 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

7 10. EIFFEL TOWER What do we call this famous landmark? (EIFFEL TOWER) The Parisians didn t want an ugly tower ruining their landscape. They quickly changed their minds when they began to ride the elevator to the top to enjoy the magnificent views from so high. Do you notice that the top of the tower sort of dissolves into the sky? That s because the top wasn t finished when Seurat painted it. Paris now has a law that no building in central Paris can be built taller than the Eiffel Tower. Raise your hand if you can find a frame around this painting. (YES) What is unusual about the frame? (PAINTED IN POINTILLISM) Seurat did that in several of his paintings. Why? (TIE IT ALL TOGETHER, BLENDS, DOESN T DISTRACT) Seurat lived right in the heart of Paris within walking distance of the circus and the Eiffel Tower. But he preferred to be out in nature, alone, to give his full attention to his precise style of art. This next scene fit his personality well -- quiet, with no people to interrupt. 11. FISHING FLEET AT PORT-EN-BESSIN He worked very long hours and found his work very difficult. Many times he saw no one for long periods while he was working. He was a very private man, and that s why we don t know a lot about the details of his life. He would pack up his painting supplies and head off, like the Impressionists, to find beautiful vistas to paint. He traveled to this harbor in the summer of 1888, and he painted the scenery many times. Raise your hand if you see long oval shapes in the painting. (YES) Can you tell what those shapes are? (SHADOWS CAST ON THE SEA BY LOW CLOUDS) Is the painting more interesting, because he captured the REFLECTIONS of the clouds? (YES) Do you see any other reflections? (YES: SAILBOATS IN WATER) Where is the HORIZON LINE? (HIGH UP, SEPARATES SKY FROM SEA) When you do your art activity in your classrooms, you will create a sailboat scene with reflections and a horizon line. And guess what technique you will use, just like Seurat? (POINTILLISM) But here is the good news. We have a shortcut, so you won t exhaust yourselves like Seurat did with his art. 6 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

8 CONCLUSION Seurat really did exhaust himself with his pointillism, but unfortunately it went even further than that. In 1891, Seurat and other artists held an exhibition of their work. Seurat did most of the work. He handled the organizing, hanging, and publicizing. He came down with a bad cold during the exhibition, and nine days after it closed, he suddenly died at the very young age of thirty-one years old. Since his life ended so early, we can only imagine what other masterpieces Seurat would have left for the world to enjoy had he lived longer. All of the paintings he had finished were still in his studio when he died; not one had sold. They were few in number, seven large pictures and forty small ones. 7 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

9 REVIEW GAME Are you ready to take a quiz about what you learned! Great Let s begin! QUIZ 1.Where was Georges Seurat born? PARIS, FRANCE / Rome, Italy / New York City 2.What is his way of painting with dots called? Realism / POINTILLISM / Sculpture 3.Why did he invent POINTILLISM? WANTED HIS OWN STYLE / Was not good at Realism / He Needed money 4.What two colors would Seurat not use? Black & Brown / Pink & Purple / Orange and Yellow 5.Why would he not use Brown and Black? 6.What does your eye do from a distance in pointillism? 7.Where did Seurat like to go for fun? 8.What is the title of his most famous painting? They are depressing / THEY ARE NOT IN THE RAINBOW / It was hard to find black and brown paint BLENDS COLORS / Separates Colors / Removes Colors Beach, CIRCUS, Video Arcade SUNDAY AFTERNOON/ Monday Morning / Friday Night 9.What colors did he use to paint Circus? Cool Colors / WARM COLORS / Warm and Cool Colors 10.How many years did it take him to paint Sunday Afternoon on Island of Grande Jatte? THREE YEARS, One Year, 10 years 11.What one word describes Seurat s personality 12.How did his style differ from Monet? Lazy / ORGANIZER / Scattered IT WAS PRECISE / It was colorful / He painted people and landscapes 8 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

10 Click Next To Finish Lesson to exit this unit click Back To Units 9 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

11 Step 2 - Learning From: Georges Seurat Drawing boats Start with a basic shape. Add a mast. Make it taller than the length of the boat. Put a sail on the mast. Draw a sailboat in the box below. 10 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

12 Reflections A reflection under a boat is the same size, but upside down. It is also not as detailed or clear. Draw the reflection for the boat below: 11 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

13 The last few pages of this section contain the Art Activity for Georges Seurat. This step-bystep outline will be a guide for instructing your child(ren) through the activity. The parent/instructor should review all steps necessary to complete this project before beginning any work. Cut out the Artist Profile Slip below and attach it to the back of the completed art project. GEORGES SEURAT (ser-ah) French Seurat said, I painted like that, because I wanted to try something new -- a kind of painting that was my own. The style he invented was Pointillism, and with millions of tiny dots he created masterpieces for the world to enjoy. His most famous painting is Sunday Afternoon in the Park. ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Pointillism, Color Theory, Reflections MEDIA: Sandpaper, Crayon GEORGES SEURAT (ser-ah) French Seurat said, I painted like that, because I wanted to try something new -- a kind of painting that was my own. The style he invented was Pointillism, and with millions of tiny dots he created masterpieces for the world to enjoy. His most famous painting is Sunday Afternoon in the Park. ART ACTIVITY EMPHASIS: Pointillism, Color Theory, Reflections MEDIA: Sandpaper, Crayon 12 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

14 Step 3 - Working With: Art Activity Instructions ARTIST Georges Seurat (ser-ah) French ART ELEMENTS Color, texture TECHNIQUE Texture rubbing EMPHASIS Seurat s color LEVEL Intermediate MEDIA Crayon, sandpaper VOCABULARY Pointillism, Impressionist, reflection, horizon line PRINT The Seine at Le Grande Jatte SUGGESTED MUSIC Impressionistic Music MATERIALS FOR INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENTS One 8½ x 11 sheet of white bond paper (10 to 20 lb. thin paper) One 9 x 12 sheet of orange or blue construction paper (for mounting) Artist profile slip One set of 9 x 10 sheets of coarse (50 or 60-grit) sandpaper (Slightly different sizes will work similarly.) Boxes of crayons Masking tape (for instructor only) Pencil and eraser Glue PREPARATION Construct an example to become familiar with the procedure. Place the print and tape your demonstration papers to the board in front of the room. Place crayons and masking tape nearby. SET-UP [5 minutes] Distribute the materials: SUPPLIES [1] Box of crayons PAPER [4] White bond paper, construction paper, sandpaper, and artist profile slip *Special Note: Have students handle sandpaper very carefully. It is very coarse and prickly; it bends and breaks easily. ORIENTATION [3 minutes] 13 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

15 Do you remember the name of the artist who created this painting? (Point out the Georges Seurat print.) Seurat was very good at mixing colors. He used many dots together to make areas of color. What is this special technique he invented called? (POINTILLISM) What subjects did Seurat like to paint? (BOATS, PEOPLE RELAXING BY THE RIVER, PETS, LADIES DRESSED UP WITH PARASOLS OR UMBRELLAS) Today you will have a chance to make a seascape using pointillism, just like Georges Seurat. Let s get organized so we can begin. DEMONSTRATION AND ACTIVITY (Have students watch the sketching demonstration and then follow with their materials.) ORGANIZE YOUR WORK AREA [3 minutes] 1.Put your white paper in the center of your desk. 2.Carefully place your sandpaper, crayons, and pencils on one side. 3.Put your construction paper on the other side. THE SKETCH [10 minutes] 1.Sketch the HORIZON LINE: To start your seascape, VERY LIGHTLY (just drag the lead across the paper) sketch a horizon line. What is a horizon line? (THE LINE THAT SEEMS TO DIVIDE THE LAND AND THE SKY) It is always horizontal. When water meets the horizon, it makes a very straight line. Make it high (about 2/3 up) on the page (demonstrate) so there will be plenty of room for a boat. 2.Sketch the boat and the REFLECTION of the boat: Use ideas from your Learning Packet pages or make up your own boat. Leave plenty of room below the boat for the reflection. Use very gentle pressure on your pencil, so the lines won t show when you color over them later. 3.The mast should be drawn taller than the width of the boat. Its reflection may go off the bottom of the paper. Complete the drawing by adding the sails. Erase the horizon line inside the sails. THE COLOR DOTS [5 minutes] Do you remember something about Seurat s special color theory? That s right. The eye blends dots of colors. Combining dots of primary colors make secondary colors. Adding dots of complementary colors create dark or shadows. Complementary colors are opposite on the color wheel. If you want an area to look green, what colors could you combine? (GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, AND BLUE-GREENS) Did the IMPRESSIONISTS use black? (NO) To color an area using the pointillist style, it is crucial that the paper be moved on top of the sandpaper each time you change crayons. If time permits, practice with a piece of notebook or scratch paper. 1.Place your sandpaper in the center of your desk, with your sketch on top of it. 2.Rub over an area using the flat end of the crayon. Use GENTLE pressure so that only LIGHT dots appear. Hold the crayon upright. Keep the crayon strokes short and moving horizontally. 3.Then lift and move the paper slightly. Choose another color, and color very lightly over the same area again. Do this several times for each area that you color. 14 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

16 COLOR THE BOAT [10 minutes] 1.Choose warm colors for the boat. The boat will stand out against the cool water. The sails can remain white if you choose. The boat will be colored with at least three colors using different concentrations of colors to create shadow and highlight. Remember that the reflection will be the same. 2.Some students will want to outline the shapes. Keep this to a minimum. Hold their artwork six to eight feet away and have them evaluate if they really need outlining. Most won t. COLOR THE WATER [5 minutes] 1.Use the cool colors to create the water. 2.The water will be darkest at the horizon line. 3.When the water is all colored, choose one cool (water) color and lightly go over the entire REFLECTION to help it blend into the water slightly. COLOR THE SKY [3 minutes] 1.Use warm or cool colors to create the sky. Use warm colors for a sunrise or sunset; use cool colors for a sunny day. The sky will be darkest at the top of the paper. 2.Vary the concentrations. For example: The water may end up more green, the sky more violet. MOUNT YOUR IMPRESSIONIST SEASCAPE [2 minutes] 1.Turn your picture over and place ONE dot of glue in each corner. 2.Turn it upright again and place the picture in the middle of the colored paper like a frame. Make sure the edges are nice and straight. Press gently on each corner. MOUNTING THE ARTIST PROFILE SLIP [2 minutes] (Profile slips for each artist are provided. They give a brief description of the artist, the technique, and the media used in the art activity. They should be mounted on the back of each art project after it is completed.) 1.Write your name on the front of the artist profile slip. 2.Using glue, mount the profile slip on the back of your artwork. 3.Encourage students to discuss their artwork at home using this artist slip of information. 15 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

17 CONCLUSION You beautifully used crayons and the points of your sandpaper to create your pointillism paintings. What is the name of the master artist who invented pointillism? (GEORGES SEURAT) He would be very proud of your masterpieces! GUIDANCE Stress using large shapes, as detail is difficult with this technique. Stress GENTLE application of pressure on the crayon. Encourage students to take the time to use many colors. Discourage the use of black, as the Impressionists did not use it. *This project is not appropriate for laminating, as it melts! THIS CONCLUDES THE GEORGES SEURAT UNIT. 16 GEORGES SEURAT Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition