Description
Oil Sketch for La Grande Jatte (Chicago) is Seurat’s study on a wooden panel from 1884: Parisian day-trippers sit and stand on the sunlit grass by the Seine, the river opens up behind them on the left with a few boats, and a man in a top hat stands at the right. The museum lists it as Oil Sketch for “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884”; the original, 24.3 x 15.5 cm, is held by the Art Institute of Chicago under number 1981.15. We make it as a canvas painting, hand-painted in oils, in eight sizes or to your own measurements, and you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.
| Title: | Oil Sketch for La Grande Jatte (Chicago) |
| Other titles: | Oil Sketch for “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884” |
| Painter: | Georges Seurat (1859–1891) |
| Year painted: | 1884 |
| Original size: | 24.3 cm x 15.5 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on panel |
| Painting style: | Oil sketch – before the dots of the final canvas |
| Located at: | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (acc. no. 1981.15) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted in oil on linen, 8 sizes from 25 x 16 cm to 150 x 100 cm, custom sizes on request |
Oil Sketch for La Grande Jatte (Chicago) – Georges Seurat
Who is in the painting?
Sunday visitors to the island of La Grande Jatte, whom the museum record does not name. At the front left a small group sits on the grass in the shade of a tree, and behind them stands a woman in an orange-red dress. In the middle a couple sits in the sun with their backs to us; a little to the right a woman stands in a long dark dress with a fashionable bustle, a man in a black top hat beside her. Further right a woman in blue sits on the grass, and at the right edge the panel cuts off a tall man in a top hat. The Seine opens out at the upper left. These are not sitters but types of a Parisian Sunday afternoon, which the painter was gathering for his large canvas.
What is on the panel?
A small horizontal wooden panel, 24.3 cm wide. Almost the whole surface is lawn in a strong yellow-green, crossed by the shadows of trees in darker bluish and green strokes. At the upper left the river is a light blue with white touches of sails, and between the trunks the pinks and whites of the far bank catch the light. The figures are set down with a few short strokes: none has a face, but each has a clear shape and colour. The paint is not laid in dots but in short, crossing strokes that stay visible one by one and leave small glimpses of wood between them. Seurat painted such panels quickly, outdoors; they are known as croquetons.
Why does this sketch matter?
Because it shows how one of the best-known paintings of the nineteenth century came into being. This French painter prepared his large canvas of the island with a series of panels like this one and many drawings, each testing something different – where the figures should stand, how the shade falls, how much room the river gets. Here the scene is already nearly composed: the lawn, the shade on the left, the couple in the middle and the tall figure at the right edge are arranged much as in the final painting. The pointillism he is famous for has not yet arrived; he reached the small dots that later came to define neo-impressionism only while working on the large canvas.
What does the scene mean?
City people’s Sunday by the river, seen without embellishment. Seurat tells no story; the figures stand and sit quietly, each on their own, and that quiet distance between them is what makes the scene modern. In the 1880s the island was a favourite outing for Parisians, who came on Sundays to the grass and the water. The sketch also has something the large painting does not: the freshness of summer light and the speed of a hand catching the scene. On a wall it feels lively and warm, and the yellow-green lawn fills a room with summer.
What happened to the original?
The museum publishes the panel’s whole route. After the painter’s death in 1891 it was entered in his studio’s posthumous inventory of 3 May 1891 as panel number 87, and may then have passed to his mother, Ernestine Faivre Seurat, who died in 1899. Later it belonged to the painter Maximilien Luce in Paris, and when he died in 1941 it passed to his son, Frédéric Luce. In May 1955 he sold it to Wildenstein and Co. in Paris, who transferred it to their New York branch in October; in November 1955 it was bought by Leigh B. Block and Mary Lasker Block of Chicago. In 1981 it came to the Art Institute of Chicago. Those details are the museum’s; we add none of our own.
Where does this sketch sit in Seurat’s work?
It is one of the preparations for Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, the large canvas held by the same museum, the Art Institute of Chicago. We sell three other preparations for the same painting, each from a different museum: Study for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (New York), a large canvas already close to the final picture; Study for La Grande Jatte (London); and Study for La Grande Jatte (right), from Paris.
How is our hand-painted version made?
With a brush and oil paint, never a printer. Our painter works from a high-resolution image of the original and keeps what makes this sketch special: short, crossing strokes, a quick sweep of the brush and a visible direction to every mark. Fine dots would be wrong here, because the panel was painted before Seurat used them, and they would turn it into a different work. Because everything is done by hand, no two canvases are ever quite alike and every hand-painted copy stays a one-off. We do not yet hold our own photographs of a finished canvas of this subject; the first time it is painted we will photograph it, and the photographs will appear here.
Which size for which wall?
If you are not sure which to choose, take 60 x 40 cm. Our smallest size, 25 x 16 cm, is 7 mm wider and 5 mm taller than the original, which measures 24.3 x 15.5 cm, so it is the size in our range closest to the original. The format is horizontal, close to an 8 : 5 ratio, so it sits well above a narrow chest of drawers or a bed, or in a group of smaller works. 50 x 30 and 60 x 40 cm are the everyday choices for a hallway or bedroom; 70 x 45 and 80 x 50 cm stand alone above a desk; 90 x 60 cm is the living-room size, and 120 x 75 and 150 x 100 cm turn the little sketch into a large summer wall. Every oil painting reproduction of this subject is made to order.
Custom size, stretcher bar and frame
If none of the eight sizes fits your wall, we paint to your measurements and keep the ratio of the original so that the lawn and the river do not shift; that is our custom size painting service. Every canvas arrives stretched on a wooden stretcher bar, ready to hang. You choose a frame in our 3D frame viewer, which shows gold, silver, black, white and natural wood profiles on this subject; it is for choosing a frame and nothing else. For a view of your own wall there is our room-visualisation service, ordered separately.
Delivery and guarantee
Every copy is painted to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size. We ship it stretched, protected for transport and framed if you wish, across the EU customs-free. Before dispatch you approve a photograph of the finished work, and our returns policy applies to every order. The full range is in the Georges Seurat gallery, and our article about Georges Seurat tells more about the painter and how to recognise a good fine art reproduction.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original?
In the Art Institute of Chicago, under number 1981.15. The museum credits it as a gift of Mary and Leigh Block.
Who are the people in the sketch?
Unnamed visitors to the island of La Grande Jatte; the museum record names none of them.
Is this the same work as Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte?
No. This is a small preparatory sketch on wood, 24.3 x 15.5 cm; the finished painting is a large canvas in the same museum. Both are in our gallery as separate products.
Is this a print?
No. The work is painted by hand in oil on canvas; the brushwork is visible and can be felt.
Which size should I choose?
For a hallway or bedroom, 60 x 40 cm; for the size closest to the original, 25 x 16 cm. The full guide is above.
Can I have a size that is not listed?
Yes. We paint to measure and keep the side ratio of the original.
Why are there no dots in the sketch?
Because Seurat painted it in 1884, before he began to paint in dots; that is why the strokes are short and quick.
What is the sketch about, in one sentence?
That one of the best-known paintings of the nineteenth century began as a quick note of summer light on a small wooden panel.
Is the original for sale?
No. The panel is in the public collection of the Chicago museum and is not for sale; a hand-painted canvas from us lets you have it at home.
How high should I hang it?
Centre at eye level, about 145–150 cm from the floor. Hang the small sizes lower, nearer where you sit.
Is it suitable as a gift?
Yes. A summer scene from the island pleases almost anyone. If you would rather leave the choice to the person receiving it, there is our gift voucher.
- Subject: Sunday visitors on the grass of La Grande Jatte, the Seine with boats behind on the left – 1884
- Original: 24.3 x 15.5 cm, oil paint on wood, Art Institute of Chicago (acc. no. 1981.15)
- Ours: a famous painting recreated by hand in oils, eight sizes from 25 x 16 to 150 x 100 cm, always stretched, framed on request
- Worth knowing: the figures are arranged much as in the final painting – only the dots are still missing
