
Post-Impressionist pioneer Georges Seurat (1859-1891) invented Pointillism, a revolutionary technique applying tiny dots of pure color that blend optically when viewed from a distance. His monumental Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-1886) took nearly two years to complete and altered the course of modern art. Seurat combined scientific color theory with classical composition, creating structured alternatives to Impressionism's spontaneity.
Seurat studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Henri Lehmann before leaving due to frustration with academic methods. He spent a year on military service at Brest, then returned to Paris to develop his theories. His first major work, Bathers at Asnieres (1883-84), established his approach. When La Grande Jatte appeared at the 1886 Impressionist exhibition, critic Felix Feneon coined the term "Neo-Impressionism." Seurat died mysteriously at just 31, possibly of meningitis, leaving The Circus unfinished. La Grande Jatte hangs at the Art Institute of Chicago, while Bathers is at the National Gallery in London.
23 paintings catalogued with museum locations

Georges Seurat
Private Collection, Unknown

Georges Seurat
Private Collection, Unknown

Georges Seurat
Musée Picasso, Paris, Paris

Georges Seurat
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA, Pasadena

Georges Seurat
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Georges Seurat
Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich

Georges Seurat, 1891
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Georges Seurat
Musée Picasso, Paris, Paris

Georges Seurat
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, Cambridge

Georges Seurat
Private Collection, Unknown

Georges Seurat
Musee d'Art Moderne de Troyes, Troyes, Troyes
Georges Seurat
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

Georges Seurat
Musée Picasso, Paris, Paris

Georges Seurat
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Georges Seurat
Private Collection, Unknown

Georges Seurat
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Georges Seurat
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Bordeaux

Georges Seurat
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC, Washington, D.C.

Georges Seurat
Private Collection, Unknown

Georges Seurat, 1884
National Gallery, London

Georges Seurat, 1886
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Georges Seurat, 1888
Georges Seurat, 1888
14 museums display Seurat's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.

Chicago, United States
1 work on display



Unknown, Unknown
5 works on display

New York, USA
1 work on display

London, UK
1 work on display


Paris, France
2 works on display
New York, USA
1 work on display

Zurich, Switzerland
1 work on display

Pasadena, US
1 work on display

New York, USA
1 work on display



Paris, France
3 works on display

Bordeaux, France
1 work on display

Troyes, France
1 work on display

Washington, D.C., United States
1 work on display

Cambridge, US
1 work on display
Other Post-Impressionism artists you might like
Explore art inspired by Post-Impressionism.
Browse Collection