In the Art Institute of Chicago

In the Art Institute of Chicago, there is a painting that stands out in my mind. It is the painting La Grande Jette by George Seuret. The painting features Parisians enjoying a Sunday by the Seine, a river near Neuilly. Many of the Parisians that are pictured are very well to do. Proven by the various activities and dress shown in this painting. As I look at this painting I view this painting I see ladies wearing nipped in corseted waists and bustles. Some of the activities to be viewed are boating and fishing. Other then well to do impictured in this piece there is a mixture of the social classes. Take for example the oarsman who seems to sit harmoniously with the middle to upper class lady and dandy next to him. Impicutred as well are prostitutes, who use the sport of fishing to hide their main reason for being there, which is to catch the soldiers who are standing on the bank as well. Off to the bottom right of this picture is a monkey attached to a leash. The leash h!eld by a l ady, who is part of the upper class stature. Kept as pets, Capuchio monkeys were all the rage in the day of Seuret. Although some skeptics say Seuret uses the monkey to licentiousness, and maybe even a coded message of hypocrisy that was a feature of French society in the 1880s. Seuret explored and used geometric landscapes in this piece. Many of the figures in La Grande Jatte are pictured in profile. This maybe a glimpse as to the influence of Ancient Egyptian Art, which during this period in time Seuret was studying. Having made many sketches from the Ancient Egyptian reliefs on his many visits to the Louve in Paris. La Grande Jatte was painted from 1884 all the way up till 1886. This two year masterpiece of Seurets is an Oil on Canvas, and is 81x 120(205x304cm). It is currently displayed in The Art Institute of Chicago. It is hard for some to believe that a man not quite thirty coul...