Read the text again and fill in the table with brief notes from the article.
1 What makes the picture special?
2 Background information
3 What you can see in the picture?
4 Manner / Technique used by the artist
5 The artist’s focus
6 Associations (sounds, smells, etc.)
7 Contrast
8 Comparison with other forms of art
9 Overall impression
10 Interpretation

Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte is one of those rare
works of art that stands alone; its transcendence is instinctively recognised by everyone.
What makes this transcendence so mysterious is that the theme of the work is not some
profound emotion or momentous event, but the most banal of workaday scenes: Parisians
enjoying an afternoon in a local park. Yet we never seem to fathom its elusive power.
Stranger still, when he painted it, Seurat was a mere 25 (with only seven more years to live),
a young man with a scientific theory to prove; this is hardly the recipe for success.
His theory was optical: the conviction that painting in dots, known as pointillism or
divisionism, would produce a brighter colour than painting in strokes.
Seurat spent two years painting this picture, concentrating painstakingly on the landscape
of the park before focusing on the people; always their shapes, never their personalities.
Individuals did not interest him, only their formal elegance.
There is no untidiness in Seurat; all is beautifully balanced. The park was quite a noisy place:
a man blows his bugle, children run around, there are dogs. Yet the impression we receive
is of silence, of control, of nothing disordered. I think it is this that makes La Grande Jatte
so moving to us who live in such a disordered world: Seurat's control. There is an
intellectual clarity here that sets him free to paint this small park with an astonishing poetry.
Even if the people in the park are pairs or groups, they still seem alone in their concision
of form — alone but not lonely. No figure encroaches on another’s space: all coexist in peace.
This is a world both real and unreal — a sacred world. We are often harried by life’s
pressures and its speed, and many of us think at times: Stop the world, I want to get off!
In this painting, Seurat has “stopped the world," and it reveals itself as beautiful, sunlit,
and silent — it is Seurat's world, from which we would never want to get off.

What makes the picture special?
The picture is special due to its transcendence and elusive power. Despite depicting a mundane scene of Parisians in a park, it evokes deep emotion through Seurat's scientific approach to painting, which creates a sense of calm and order in the chaos of everyday life.

Background information
Seurat was 25 years old when he painted Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte. He was working to prove his optical theory of pointillism, which involved using dots to create brighter colors than traditional brushstrokes. He spent two years painting the piece.

What you can see in the picture?
The painting depicts Parisians relaxing in a park. There are groups and pairs of people, but none of them are interacting with each other in a personal way. The park is lively with sounds of a bugle, children running, and dogs, but the visual impression is peaceful and orderly.

Manner / Technique used by the artist
Seurat employed pointillism (or divisionism), where he used small dots of color instead of brushstrokes. This technique allowed him to create vibrant and luminous colors.

The artist’s focus
Seurat focused on the formal elegance of the figures, emphasizing their shapes rather than their personalities or emotions. He paid meticulous attention to balance and control in the scene.

Associations (sounds, smells, etc.)
The park is described as noisy, with the sounds of a bugle, children, and dogs. However, the visual result gives a sense of silence and control, which contrasts with the actual sounds of the park.

Contrast
The contrast is between the actual noisy environment of the park and the quiet, controlled atmosphere conveyed in the painting. Seurat’s controlled technique creates a peaceful and orderly world that contrasts with the chaotic and disorderly real world.

Comparison with other forms of art
Unlike traditional paintings that capture dynamic, emotional moments or important events, Seurat’s work is focused on a mundane, everyday scene. The use of pointillism also differentiates it from other traditional painting styles, as it combines science with art to create visual harmony.

Overall impression
The overall impression of the painting is one of serene beauty. It portrays a world of calm, order, and balance, which offers a stark contrast to the hectic pace of everyday life. It feels almost sacred in its stillness.

Interpretation
The painting can be interpreted as a symbol of control and order in a chaotic world. Seurat "stops the world" in his artwork, creating a peaceful space that feels both real and unreal, offering a moment of tranquility amidst life’s pressures.