Georges Seurat (1859-1891) was born in Paris, France to Antoine and Ernestine Seurat who were wealthy individuals. He served in the Brest Military Academy after a couple years of working with Justin Lequin on sculpting and studying at Ecole des Beaux-Arts. 1880-82 he devoted time to learning how to draw in black and white and then completed his first major painting in 1883, taking most the year to complete Bathers at Asnieres. Instead of sticking to official art salons and establishments, Seurat preferred to work with other independents and learn from them. In 1884 a group of like-minded artists formed the group, "Societe des Artistes Independants." Paul Signac and Maximilien Luce were part of the group and his contemporary influences. Seurat began to develop a belief that the laws of optical perception and color could be used together to create a new art form. He called this Chromoluminarism. Seurat read the scientist Michel Eugene Chevreul and his theories about natural law and color. Chevreul discovered that two colors sitting very close together would create the effect and look of another color. This was the foundation for Pointillisim and Neo-impressionism. Chevreul described a harmony and Seurat took it further to use it to describe an emotion. His most famous piece of work is "A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte," and it took two years to create. The color of the work is done with very tiny dots that are the same color so the viewer's eyes can blend the color instead of it being done on the canvas or in a mixing pot. The look is truly unique compared to other paintings. It is held permanently at the Art Institute of Chicago.
