GEORGES SEURAT - 13

 To wrap up our study of Georges Seurat's contributions to the world of art, it must be said that Seurat was known to be reserved and reclusive.  He never married, but he did have what my research finds to have been a common-law wife, Madeleine Knoblock....the lady he painted powdering her face.

Seurat faced personal challenges throughout his life, just like we all do.  He gave of himself to create the meticulous and time-consuming painting technique we know was Pointillism...painting a picture with small dots or strokes of color.  

What is Pointillism?  "When the viewer approaches the painting, they find that the subjects become an array of dots.  It is an unexpected and delightful surprise that reveals the role of human intelligence in perception.  The science behind pointillism lies in how various colors interact with each other and how our eyes perceive them."  This was Seurat's own "scientific" style.  It's another example of one person following his own, novel path, and in doing so, giving the rest of us new insight into art.  Research tells us that Seurat became frustrated by the strict ways of school and left early, continuing as a self-taught artist.   

Georges Seurat died in Paris at his parents' home on March 29, 1891, at the age of 31.  The cause of his death is uncertain, and has been attributed to a form of meningitis, pneumonia, infectious angina, and diphtheria.  Seurat was buried in the family vault at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris.  At the time of Seurat's death, Madeleine was pregnant with their second child, who died during or shortly after birth. 

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."
"Some say they see poetry in my paintings; I see only science."
~Georges Seurat~

ELEMENTS OF ART COMPOSITION

Gotta tell you how these self-taught art lessons can change the way we see our world.  Yesterday we trolleyed to get my stitches removed.  The weather was unseasonably warm....mid-afternoon 82 degrees for the end of October.  Some of the leaves are still clinging to the branches, and I found myself noticing the color contrasts in nature.  How the yellowish leaves stand out against a brown background.  These are the baby steps to understanding art, but it goes to show that all things we learn about do make a difference to life.  With that said, here are eight elements to look for in art, with a tiny explanation of each.......

Unity:  Do all the parts of the composition feel as if they belong together, or does something feel awkwardly out of place?

Balance:  Balance is the sense that the painting 'feels right' and is not heavier on one side than the other.  Having a balanced arrangement adds a sense of calm, whereas an off-balance arrangement creates a sense of unease.

Movement:  There are ways to give a sense of movement to a painting.  Artists use leading lines to direct the viewer's eye into and around the painting.  Leading lines can be actual lines of a fence or railroad, or implied lines, such as a row of trees or a curve of stones or circles.

Rhythm:  Much like music does, a piece of art can have a rhythm or underlying beat.  Look for the large underlying shapes (squares, triangles, etc.) and repeated color.

Focus (or Emphasis):  The viewer's eyes want to rest on the most important thing, or focal point in the painting.  Otherwise, the eye feels lost, wandering around the page.

Contrast:  Paintings with high contrast--strong differences between light and dark--have a different feel than paintings with minimal contrast in light and dark.  In addition to light and dark, contrast can be differences in shape, color, size, texture, type of line, etc.

Pattern:  A regular repetition of lines, shapes, colors or values in a composition.

Proportion:  How things fit together and relate to each other in terms of size and scale; whether big or small, nearby or distant.

FINDING THE FOCAL POINT IN ARTWORK

Yesterday's post was the final one for Georges Seurat.  This early morning we're headed to have the stitches removed from my forehead, so I'll wait until tomorrow for a final wrap-up on Seurat.  

As you can see, I'm teaching myself how to appreciate art so I can look at a piece and analyze it through my own eyes.  I've been reading a lot about looking for the focal point in a painting, and it would be more fun if I share my findings with my blog followers.  Some of us aren't privy to art museums or galleries, but I have my own idea on where I can go to find old paintings.  How 'bout thrift stores and antique shops?  The ideal places to go to mosey around and linger in the background and study the pictures that are for sale.  

Question:  What is the focal point in art?  It is the most visually interesting area of the composition.  There can be multiple focal points, within a composition.  The human eye is always drawn to the area of the greatest contrast.  The center of interest in a painting acts as an 'attention getter.'  It commands the viewer's curiosity or mental concentration, and it is the part of the picture that we find naturally fascinating and want to know more about.  Examples might be a brightly colored flower in a field of green, a person's eyes in a portrait, the central light source in a dark room, a single large object against a smaller background, or a point where lines converge in a composition.

Another example, say you are painting a seascape and your focal point in the painting is a small fishing boat with an old man and his son fishing on it.  If the area surrounding the fishing boat is nothing but a calm open sea, then your focal point will be powerful, as it is not competing for attention.

Most artists agree that there are four options to place focal points in a painting:  the top right, top left, bottom right and bottom left.  Which is the best?  The rule of thumb (with exceptions, of course) is that the top right area gets a 5-star rating because we read from left to right and our eye will linger longest there.

Question:  What are the five ways artists create a focal point?

Contrast

1.  Contrast.  Contrast refers to difference.  Any type of difference in the work will result in that element becoming a focal point.  Difference or contrast can come in many different forms, i.e., the color--its value, how light or dark the color is---the texture or physical feel that can range from smooth, rough, fuzzy to slimy---and the shape.

Isolation

2.  Isolation.  Whenever one object or element is separated from a group, it becomes isolated and in turn, becomes a focal point.

Placement

3.  Placement.  Objects that are placed in the center of the picture or near the center, will naturally become a focal point.  Most of the time, the focal point that is not exactly centered is preferred.  By placing an object or element just off center, you can create a focal point through placement. 

Convergence

4.  Convergence.  Another way to create a focal point is to use implied lines to direct a viewer's eye to an object or element.  This technique is known as convergence. 

5.  The Unusual.  This technique introduces an object or element to the scene that is unusual.  This object will stand out and demand attention, thus creating a focal point.

The Unusual

Another term for the focal point is center of attention.  

What is the Golden Rule of the Focal Point in art?:  The golden ratio is based on the rule of thirds.  If you were to separate your painting into thirds, both vertically and horizontally, the intersections of those lines are the best places for an area of emphasis.

The Focal Point Principle

Another point to remember about the focal point principle is that whatever stands out visually in a painting will capture and hold the viewer's attention first. 

 

GEORGES SEURAT - 12

The Circus (1891)

This painting treats the spectator to a view of circus life.  Our eyes are drawn to the central figure of a female acrobat poised in mid-air above a white horse, which is captured mid-gallop.  The acrobat's form and the radiant hue of her costume evoke a sense of motion and fun, both characteristic of a circus performance.  Around this focal point is a variety of figures, each one playing a distinct role in the scene.

We see a ringmaster on the right.  To the lower left, a clown or jester, is identified by his costume and exaggerated reaction.  Another pair of clowns are tumbling to the right behind the ringmaster.  This is how Seurat adds a touch of humor to the composition.  Notice that the circus performers are in a space characterized by curves and spirals.  

The background is layered with audiences seated in rows, observing intently, their faces suggesting a range of reactions to the performance.  The seating is positioned on an upward slope away from the stage, to give those in the audience at the back a better view than if the seats were all on the same level.  The seating gives the viewer a sense of being part of the audience.  Seurat's pointillism creates a rich tapestry of dotted color, allowing the tones to blend and shimmer from a distance.  It was Seurat's theory that straight lines create a sense of calm and these lines appear only in the rows of seats toward the back of the painting.  Here the audience calmly watches the grand spectacle in front of them.

Seurat's composition is the most important aspect of the work and is separated into two very distinct portions.  The front section is devoted to activity, while the back section is assigned to the motionless spectators looking on.  Both are given almost equal measures of the canvas, but for entirely different purposes.  Interestingly, he created harmony by presenting opposites or contrasts.

Notice how The Circus is full of upward strokes toward the front of the painting, where most of the action is taking place.  Everything in this section is accentuated to a peak--the hair of both the clown/jester at the front and the performer on the horse.  

The audience shows the distinctions between social classes sitting in rows.  The well-dressed higher classes near the front to the lower classes in the gallery at the back.

The seating architecture is the only part of this painting that has straight vertical lines.  Some audience members sit at an angled position, and some of the hats in the scene are placed at an angle.  Seurat's piece is intended to evoke happiness and action throughout.  

The success of circuses in France meant that by 1870 there were five permanent circuses situated in Paris that performed every night.  A male performer riding a wild horse bare-back was fairly common, but for the first time the circus incorporated a female model for the daring act.  This is one of the prominent statements Seurat makes in this painting.

The Circus was Seurat's last painting and remained unfinished at his death in 1891.  The painting is exhibited at one of France's most prestigious galleries, the Musee d'Orsay, Paris.   

GEORGES SEURAT - 11

Young Woman Powdering Herself - 1889-1890

In this painting, the variation of light and shadow on the wall is achieved with the use of small dots of pure color next to each other in varying concentrations and intensities.  The young model depicted by Seurat was his mistress, Madeleine Knobloch, who bore him two sons (both died very young), and this painting, therefore, takes on a very personal meaning.  Seurat kept his relationship secret.

Seurat placed colors from opposite sides of the color wheel--orange and blue, pink and green--next to each other for greater contrast.  One might say that the woman in the painting is from an upper class based on the fact that she is wearing jewelry and has a salon table to put her makeup on.  Notice the cramped table top which holds a delicate stand with a mirror and two perfume bottles.  The painting shows that it is important for women from all eras to have time to themselves away from stress, expectations and people. 

Recent x-rays have revealed that the seemingly sweet flowers painting in the top left corner was originally a self-portrait of Seurat. The story goes that a friend ridiculed it, so Seurat replaced his likeness with the flowers.  Recent technology provided historians with a clear image of Seurat's self-portrait underneath the vase of flowers (right).  With an elongated face, pointed beard and paintbrush in hand, Seurat represented himself painting.  Sadly, that was the only self-portrait Seurat ever painted.  

This painting is located in the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

GEORGES SEURAT - 10

The Channel of Gravelines, Petit Fort Philippe - 1890

This painting depicts a coastal harbor scene in pointillist style--a mix of primary and complementary colors applied in small, irregular dabs of paint.  Seurat used their shape and density to achieve his vision.  The short, sturdy vertical post has the greatest density of dots, while the right side of the sky is so loosely covered that the white ground layer is visible.  Notice how the post anchors the picture securely.....it looks almost reachable by the viewer.  The sea, sky and ground occupy roughly equal proportions.  Be sure to take note of the vertical line of the lighthouse and the way he uses shading around it...and its vertical shadow in the water.  Based upon the bright light and stark shadows, Seurat painted this in mid-afternoon.

Seurat positioned the boats along the sand dunes and in the canal so their horizontal and vertical elements resulted in maximum visual stability.  The elegantly curved wharf reflects serenity, as it stretches into infinity.  At the same time, the sweeping diagonal cutting the composition in two provides contrasting movement.   

In 1890, Seurat traveled to this tiny port of Gravelines, near the Belgian border, and painted what would be his last four landscapes.  Gravelines was considered an uninteresting town.  Maybe that was the draw for Seurat, as he was getting more and more protective of his painting methods.  Also, the canal's straight lines lent well to his strictly-organized compositions.  Seurat preferred painting images of ports and shores, rather than dramatic sunsets and stormy seas.  The complete lack of humans, either vacationers or hardworking fishermen, was typical of Seurat's seascapes.  His paintings had a luminous stillness about them.

This pointillist painting is located in the Indiana Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana.

GEORGES SEURAT - 9

Embroidery,  The Artist's Mother
1882-83

Though Seurat created numerous portraits of his mother, none have the sense of calm and simplicity as seen in this drawing.  Note how her downcast eyes create an aura of modesty and suggest that she is involved in a quiet domesticity, such as embroidery.  She is plain, with her hair pulled back in a bun and has slightly thick features--a motherly look--unaware that she is being observed. 

Her presence is made more vague by the drawing technique Seurat called "irradiation," which avoided distinct lines and represented the subtleties of light and shadow through tones of a black crayon.

Seurat was very close with his mother, and this painting would have meant a lot to him.  In 1880, he dined with his mother almost every night.  Their close relationship and frequent contact meant that he did not need to look far for a subject with whom he was closely acquainted.  Seurat gave this drawing to his mother.

GEORGES SEURAT - 8

The Black Bow  - 1882 

In this piece, Seurat used a Conte crayon to create the textured surface.  The Conte crayon was a hard crayon made of charcoal and clay and didn't smudge as much as other crayons.

Conte Crayons

Seurat plays with light and shadow to provide a sense of depth and form.  It's a simple composition, yet it captures the elegant essence of the lady's fragile form.  The stark contrast between the darkness of the paper and the lighter strokes gives the piece a dramatic presence.  The jagged outline and deep black color of the bow is unlike the rest of her costume.  Note the halo of light that outlines the black bow, the focal point of the entire composition.

Through his graphic art skills, Seurat captures both the physical appearance and the emotional state of the lady.  Her expression reflects loneliness and perhaps hints at personal struggles she may be facing.  We are invited to contemplate what her story is and be sympathetic.  His ability to convey complex emotions through simple, yet powerful, imagery sets him apart as an artist.  

The Black Bow remains an important part of France's art heritage.  Its current presence within Musee d'Orsay in Paris allows visitors from around the world to appreciate its beauty, while contemplating its possible tragic symbolism.

GEORGES SEURAT - 7

My dear loyal followers.....my surgery is behind me, and my private nurse, a/k/a the boyfriend, is tending to my restrictions.  My surgeon ordered a strong steroid be added to my IV prior to the procedure.  It's working, as the swelling is not what it otherwise might be.  There's quite a bit of pain, but I have prescriptions for that, plus antibiotics.  Next week I go back for a post-op and removal of stitches.

My warmest appreciation for the texts, emails and phone calls wishing me well.    Once again, at the hospital, I met the angels in our world.  My prayers go out to all who serve us in the field of medicine and care for us.    

I did the research for a couple of Seurat blogs ahead of time, so I'm able to keep going with our study while I self-pamper......  

Bridge at Courbevoie - 1886

The scene is of three solitary men on the bank of the River Seine.  These men do not relate to each other or the audience, giving the feeling of isolation, reflection and calmness.  There is a boat on the water with two figures that are not well-defined.  If it wasn't for the title of the painting, I wouldn't have noticed the bridge in the distance.

The smoke stack behind the bridge is the only sign of the modern industrial age.  The billowing smoke suggests that industrialization is adversely affecting the environment that was formerly unpolluted.  If you remember, Seurat included this idea in The Bathers at Asnieres.  One could conclude that the artist's dissatisfaction with these new industrial developments is reflected in the somber and indifferent mood of the three solitary figures.  The same could be said for the black tree with no leaves in the foreground to the right of the painting.  Given that the other tree in the top left-hand corner is fully leafed out and the grass is very green, Seurat might be depicting not only the change in seasons, but also the passing of an era.

There is no movement depicted except for the wind that appears to be from the right (the smoke from the chimney) and from the left in the middle (the sail).

The dominant features across this painting are the numerous vertical lines--the poles in the water, the three figures, the sail, the chimney, the fence and the reflections.

There are also some bold horizontal lines--the far distant opposite river bank, the bridge, and the jetty, all give further depth to the image. 

There are a couple of diagonal lines--the grass bank in the foreground which is repeated  in the fence.  

The only curves are on the underside of the bridge, the sail and its reflection, as well as the solitary dark tree.  

Seurat's The Bridge at Courbevoie is on display at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
  

GEORGES SEURAT - 6

 

The Forest at Pontaubert - 1881

Seurat spent two months in 1881 in Pontaubert (Pont-au-bare), a village southeast of Paris.  This village was known as a place for landscape artists to visit.  He painted this concert of greens, which shows his keen interest in the play of light and shadows.  It is a fine example of pointillism, as he captures, with thousands of dots, its essence and stillness with varying shades of green, yellow, brown and white.  He uses darker colors to show the texture of the bark on the trees and to show shadows. 

The two younger trees in the forefront appear to me to be birch.  Would you agree?  The way he painted the trees closer toward the front of the painting adds depth to the background of the forest.  Notice, too,  how Seurat subtly tells us the season is autumn when he paints a tiny splotch of colorful leaves in the top left corner.

The first thing one notices is how the painting is anchored by the vertical tree trunks, which draw the eye upward and convey a sense of the stately grandeur of the forest glade.  One feels like they're walking beside Seurat as he walks in the woods.  One can't help but feel a deep appreciation for this peek at the serenity and natural beauty of the French countryside.  

The painting shows only trees, leaves and grass, but it holds a suggestion of something more if only the artist and the viewer are brave enough to go deeper into the forest. It's like an invitation.  It appears at first to be a simplistic scene, but provides a route into a darker, more secretive world.  This work is a celebration of nature and manages to introduce a hint of excitement and mystery, thus creating an emotional reaction.

The painting is on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

GEORGES SEURAT - 5

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque)

1887-1888 

There is so much to this painting, that I have used highlighting to identify the figures we see standing in front of us.  At first glance, I had nary a clue what the painting represented.  Like everything in life, the more we become aware....the better we see, understand and appreciate.  Artists are gifts to the rest of us.  They show us the world that they saw, and they speak to us through their work.  Many of them never knew the impact they'd have on the human population.

This painting represents the sideshow of the Circus Corvi held in a working area of eastern Paris in the spring of 1887.  Traveling circuses and seasonal fairs were a popular entertainment, appealing to aristocrats and commoners alike.  Sideshows were staged outside the circus tent, for free, to entice passersby to purchase tickets.  Note how Seurat placed the tree on the left to tell us this scene is taking place outdoors.

The trombonist is a man who stands on a platform in the center of the painting, wearing a conical hat.  Four faceless musicians with their instruments are set back from the trombonist.

Standing next to the trombonist is the buffoon or jester with a ruffled collar and is facing off with the ringmaster or barker.  (A barker stood in front of a show or carnival and encouraged people to buy tickets.)  The ringmaster is wearing a brownish tailcoat and is holding a cane under his left arm.  I enlarged my screen to clearly see the cane. 

Now, we have to look real close to see the diagonal line behind the trombone player that suggests a ramp leading to the circus stage where the circus performers (painted orange) are doing their thing.  Just for fun, count the number of horizontal and diagonal lines in this one painting.  Seurat plays with shapes in this work by placing sculpture-like figures next to other shapes in a grid-like rectangular background.  

The crowd of spectators is made up of a mix of men and women, who are represented by 13 shadowed heads at the bottom of the painting.  The left side shows working class people wearing bowler hats, while the right side shows bourgeois patrons wearing top hats and elaborate lady's hats.  Note how Seurat makes a societal statement by separating them.  Art exposes us to different eras and tells us what life was like back then.  Clearly, problems are part of being human.

Might this painting reflect the political climate in Paris at the time?  French art of the late 1800s used circus shows to spoof politicians who, just like the street performers, were selling something that lay obscured behind the curtain.  

The Circus Sideshow is displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

GEORGES SEURAT - 4

Le Chahut (shay-yu)
(The Can-can)
1889-1890

The Chahut painting depicts a popular French  entertainment.  When I first looked at this painting, I saw men dancing the Can-can dance.  Huh?  Well, I did some research and learned that, yes, men danced the can-can, a disorderly dance called the Chahut which was originally performed by men at public dance halls.   Women soon began dancing the can-can in a similar manner to the men, and the dance became even more popular.    

We see the interior of a dance hall where a chorus line of women and men are enthusiastically dancing the can-can, a risque dance for that time, along with an orchestra.  Seurat painted this work at a time when the city of Paris had become flooded with a variety of nightly entertainment that impacted artists and poets of the period.  He captured the flamboyant dance in a strict system of countless minutely applied dots of paint, lines and color combinations.

Seurat felt a person's mood was related to both line and color.  He believed that light tones, warm colors and upward lines created happiness, while sadness was created by dark tones, cold colors and downward lines.  According to Seurat, a painting should show joy, peace or sorrow.

With that theory in mind, notice how he used warm colors, giving the painting an orange glow in places.  Similarly, he created rising lines with the upward direction of the men's moustaches, the women's lips and eyes, the neck of the double bass instrument, the legs of the dancers, the conductor's hand and the flowers in the background.   Apart from the double bass player with his back toward the viewer, all the figures appear to be wearing the same color.  Note on the left side of the painting how Seurat uses shades of green and flecks of blue, orange and maroon to create shadows.  Notice again the halos or auras around the figures.  

Note the man in the lower right corner of the painting...a male spectator staring at the dancers.  Critics comment on this male sitting below the performers the way he appears to be staring upwards at the open skirt of the female performer.

Notice how the deeper blue border around the edge of the canvas culminates in a shallow arch on the upper edge.

This painting carries within it a deeper meaning.  Seurat's depiction of the working-class dancers reflects his interest in social issues.  He subtly critiques the exploitation and degradation of women in the entertainment industry.  The painting offers us a glimpse into the cultural landscape of Paris in the late 1800s.  It celebrates the city's nightlife, its artistic spirit, and its social complexities.

Georges Seurat's Le Chahut is located at the Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands.

This project introduces us to Pointillism.  Instead of mixing colors on a palette, the pointillist applies their brush directly to the canvas with raw tones.  He places small round or square touches or dots.....the mixing and blending of pigments occur directly on the canvas and not beforehand.  This technique completely breaks away from traditional painting methods.

I've learned, too, that engaging in dot painting activities is great for children.  The skills and concepts children develop through the use of dot markers extend beyond art.  Fine motor skills, focus, creativity and cognitive abilities are all enhanced through dot painting, which contributes to overall development.  Who knew.

GEORGES SEURAT - 3

The Eiffel Tower - 1889

In 1889, Georges Seurat set out to paint the most controversial and scandalous engineering structure being erected in the heart of Paris.  Almost all famous writers and artists opposed the construction.  They tried to convince the municipality that an act of vandalism was taking place in the center of the city, and the huge, ugly, completely useless factory chimney would distort the architecture of Paris and destroy the view from any window.  It had been written that French author Guy de Maupassant ate every day in a cafe on the first level of the tower.  When asked why, he answered, "This is the only place in Paris from which you cannot see it."

Seurat couldn't have chosen anything better to paint.  He was the founder of the movement that wanted to convey the unchanging essence of things, their basic qualities that will not change from the time of year or sunlight.  He looked for the truth of things that will be understood and obvious this minute and a hundred years later. 

Seurat's use of pointillism in The Eiffel Tower is most evident in the flickering effect of the painting's surfaces.  The bright sky is filled with flecks of white, gold and blue, and the tower appears to dissolve into the sky.  He painted the tower before its completion in 1889, when the top was still missing its crowning platform.

Note at the base of painting, Seurat illustrates a simplified landscape, with tiny strokes of colors representing people, buildings and the horizon.  The division of color and light captures a moment of tranquility within the bustling city of Paris. 

Seurat's artwork serves as evidence of his artistic genius, demonstrating his capacity to capture not only the external features of a scene but also its atmosphere and spirit.  By taking viewers back to the 19th century and immersing them in the allure and wonder of the Eiffel Tower's construction, his painting acts as a visual time capsule.  

The Eiffel Tower was initially built to serve as the entrance gateway to the International Exposition of 1889, as well as a testament to French industrial ingenuity.  The Tower's nickname is La Dame de fer, or The Iron Lady.  She stands 1,083 feet tall, about the same height as an 81-story building...one of the most recognizable structures in the world.  

For our better understanding of life back then, here is a photo of the tower serving as the gateway to the 1889 Paris Expo....

*Seurat's original painting of The Eiffel Tower is currently on display at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in California.

GEORGES SEURAT -2

May I introduce the French artist Georges Seurat (pronounced ZHORZH  SIR-AA).  Born into a wealthy family in Paris, his father was a legal official.  Seurat studied  art with Justin Lequiene, a sculptor, gave one year of service to a military academy, returning to Paris in 1880 where he shared a small studio with two student friends before moving to a studio of his own.  Seurat was fascinated by the science of color and the process by which the human eye and brain resolve the impression of color as seen in Nature.  The technique he developed was to apply paint to the canvas not as continuous brushstrokes, but as tiny points of color.  The individual dots are invisible, but the proportions of dots of different colors in any one area create the impression of a certain shade.  The dots of paint are the same as the pixels we hear about today.

He spent 1883 on his first major painting--a huge canvas (6.5 feet x 10 feet) titled Bathers at Asnieres (pronounced AHN-YAIR) which we will learn about today.  Asnieres was an industrial suburb northwest of Paris on the River Seine.  
 

Bathers at Asnieres (1884)

In this picture Seurat shows us factory workers relaxing in the sunshine along the Seine River.  Five men on the river bank and two boys bathing in the water.  One of the men is lying on the grassy riverbank beside the one dressed in white on the left side. The curious thing about this painting is its stillness...they all appear absorbed in their own thoughts or watching what is happening in the water.  Only their profiles show, not one figure in the painting faces the viewer.  Seurat identifies the working class by their clothing, as we can see by the hats, boots and sleeveless vest.  The factories in the background are most likely where the men work.  

Seurat clearly portrays France's late 19th century contrast in the social classes.  He snuck in a critical depiction of the upper class.  If we look closely, there is a lady with a parasol and a man wearing a top hat being ferried across the river in a boat bearing a tricolor French flag.  (Might the absurdly large flag for such a small boat, suggest ironically that its passengers are representatives of France and are more valuable than the idling workers whom they are leaving behind?) Their oarsman is the only person in the picture who is shown to be working.  Just below the bridge on the left of the river are a couple of sailing boats, and on the right toward us is a third sailboat near the shore.

In the 1880s, the only subjects deemed appropriate for such a large painting were religious, historical or classical subjects.  Certainly not members of the lower orders lounging about on the banks of the Seine.  But, in capturing the moment on such a large scale and in portraying working men, Seurat was challenging the right of the establishment to dictate what was or was not a suitable subject for art.  It's quite possible that there was an underlying political statement in the painting.

Note how the surface of the water is darker or brighter along the outlines of the characters, making them appear more three-dimensional.  Also, how Seurat painted halos or auras around the figures in the water.  This painting shows a transitional moment captured in oil paint, as Georges Seurat worked on the evolving pointillism technique.  Crosshatch brushwork blends with patches of dots to create this peaceful scene.  Cross-hatching is a method of line drawing that describes light and shadow.  The representation of light utilizes the white or openness of the page, while shadow is created by a density of crossed lines. 

The background smokestacks and factories remind the figures in the painting that their toil is never far off.

Looking at the clothing and manner of the figures, they are clearly among the lower class in the suburb, who relax at the end of a hard-working day.  The Academy of Moral and Political Science declared in 1874 that the key in developing a moral code among the working class was a day of rest.  Thus, Sunday had been declared a day off, when people would spend time with their family.  However, the working men preferred to have Monday as their day off and spend it with friends.  That is why the figures in the painting are all men, except for a woman on the ferry.  The female was included in the picture in order to outline the difference between the classes, the lower one and the rich.

I'm intrigued by the way Seurat painted the clothes that are lying on the ground next to the guy sitting on the edge of the bank.....a straw hat with band to match his trunks, dark boots, and trousers with a big white towel thrown over them, which helps draw the eye to him.  

The painting Bathers of Asnieres resides today as a highlight on the wall of The London National Gallery Museum.  It is a beautiful painting.  Nothing in it is glamorized, Nature is not idealized.  The figures are ordinary men, not particularly handsome, just men.  It is life, unidealized and unromanticized.  A masterpiece.

A NEW ADVENTURE IN THE WORLD OF ART - GEORGES SEURAT

Think it's time for me to delve into the life of George Seurat, who was born in 1859 in Paris, France and died in 1891 in Paris.  Seurat is known as the Founding Father of Pointillism--in painting, that is the practice of applying small dots of color to a canvas so that from a distance they visually blend together as a picture.  

His best-known and largest painting depicted people from different social classes strolling and relaxing in a park west of Paris. 

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
~1884-1886~

The painting's dimensions are 6.6 feet by 9.8 feet.  At the painting's edge, Seurat surrounded it with a frame of painted dots, which he enclosed with a pure white, wooden frame.  That's how the painting is exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago.

If we take a close look, we see that most of the figures in the painting are cast in shadow, either under the trees or an umbrella, or another person.  For the people of Paris, Sunday was the day to escape the heat of the city and go to the shade and cool breezes that came off the Seine River.  

On the right, a fashionable couple are on a stroll.  The man is wearing a top hat.  Look closely and you'll see that the lady has a pet monkey on a leash.  On the left, a well-dressed woman extends her fishing pole over the water.  Note the man with the black hat and thin cane looking at the river.  Do you see a man playing a trumpet and two soldiers standing at attention as the musician plays?  And the man in the forefront lying on the ground smoking a pipe?  In the painting's center stands a little girl dressed in white, who's looking directly at the viewer of the painting.

It is written that Seurat included symbolism in this painting to highlight the Paris that he saw.  It is possible that the monkey on the lower right represents prostitution, as the French word for monkey, singesse, means prostitute.  Besides that, the woman fishing at the water bank may subtly suggest the other kind of fishing, and that she is, in fact, a hooker.  It's important to understand that this Paris Park was a favorite place of prostitutes, and that's why the speculation about the monkey and the lady fishing. 

The painting is valued at $650 million.  It's unfathomable what Georges Seurat was able to create with tiny brush strokes and dots, or points, of color.  He was just 26 years old when he completed this work.  Sadly, Georges Seurat died from an undetermined illness at the age of 31.  This painting was unseen for 30 years after his death.  In 1924, a lover of art, Frederic Clay Bartlett, purchased A Sunday on La Grande Jatte and loaned it to the Art Institute of Chicago. 

On April 15, 1958, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte was on loan at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, when a fire broke out in the adjoining Whitney Museum.  The fire damaged six canvases, injured 31 people and killed one workman, but Seurat's beloved painting was quickly taken away to safety through an elevator evacuation plan. 

There's a lot more to follow about this famous artist, and I'm in the mood to learn and share what I learn with my devoted followers.  The highest purpose of art is to inspire.

MYSTERIES, YES (Mary Oliver)

THERE'S SO MUCH TO SEE

Frost alert last night, so my olive plant came inside from the deck.  A freeze warning is in effect again tonight.  The temperature now is 42 degrees.  Sweatshirt weather is here, and I couldn't be happier.  

Last night was another movie marathon night for me.  Watched two movies that lasted until 3:30 a.m.  My brain was on a roll, so I had to talk myself down to where I could fall asleep.  That leaves me today with little desire to do more than watch  the murder trial that's going on down in Georgia.  Yesterday the forensic pathologist testified, and I was able to see photos of the scant remains of the victim's burned body.  A bullet was found lodged in a piece of a rib bone.  The defense is trying to take the blame off the wife and nail it instead onto one or both of the sons.  Watching these trials makes a person aware of just how many problems exist within prominent families and how well they're kept hidden from public awareness.  Shakespeare said it best, "All the world's a stage." 

Going back to our trolley the other day, here's a photo of a tree standing along the river in a campground.  It's a serene spot for campers who enjoy canoeing and kayaking.  My heart silently wished we were sitting in our camping chairs watching the leaves fall.    

It's interesting how we tend to photograph the parts of Nature that are unique in their own right.  Maybe it's the gnarly character of this tree, its obvious strength, endurance and imperfections.  It's still serving a purpose....wearing the arrow pointing to the area set aside for tents.  

I can't help but wonder how many birds have sat on its branches, how many squirrels have scampered up and down its trunk.  When and how was it first planted?  How many cuddly nests have its branches held?  How many baby animals were born in those nests?  What storms has it lived through?  And, imagine the campers who have sat beneath it drinking beers and roasting hot dogs.  Every single part of Nature has its own story, but it is only us humans who have a voice with which to share ourselves with the world.  In order for us to appreciate every single part of Nature, we have to slow down, explore, discover and respect.  I wish this tree could know that someone truly values its existence enough to write a blog about it today.

BEAUTIFUL NATURE

 

Sumac grows freely along the country roads in our part of the country.  This time of year it's crimson color adds a hint of 'fire' to the world.  I mean that in a good way, sort of like the term 'spit fire' when pertaining to a personality.  As you can see, there's nothing special about the bush, except that its beauty deserves to be admired and shared.  

I've received comments from my readers about our trolleys, and how lucky we are to live in an area where we can drive around safely, without the threat from the haters.  Those comments make me happy, yet they also make me feel sad that we all can't enjoy the outdoors and driving safely.  

I'm hoping my pictures give others insight to what Mother Nature is up to with her paintbrush.  The leaves turning color is a miracle like the rainbow that appears in the sky after a rain.  And, how 'bout the Northern Lights that have been gracing the night sky.  

Debbie and Sheila shared pictures of the Lights, and both gave me permission to post them here.  My thanks go to both of them......

~Taken by Debbie's neighbor~

~Taken by Debbie's neighbor~

This next one was taken by Sheila.  Please note how she not only captured the Northern Lights, but the Big Dipper, as well.

Northern Lights and Big Dipper

"Everybody needs beauty.....

places to play in and pray in

where Nature may heal and cheer

and give strength to the

body and soul alike.

~John Muir

AN AUTUMN TROLLEY

Yesterday after picking up our WM order, we took a trolley to a town known for its chimney rock bluffs along the river.  The temperature was autumn perfect, a titch on the cool side.  I managed to snap a few photos along the way.  There were sights that I passed up, simply because the views were many.  They usually are this time of year when Mother Nature paints the leaves in elegant shades of burnt orange, gold and crimson.  The best part for us is that we don't have to drive far to take in the colorful parade of trees.

For an extra treat, we stopped at Culver's for a picnic lunch that we ate in the car.  My choice of food was their Cranberry-Bacon-Chicken-Bleu Cheese Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing.  Truly delicious.  The boyfriend chose the Cod Sandwich with a Vanilla Shake.  Autumn picnics are such fun.  

Today the clouds are dark and heavy-looking, crawling across the sky.  The temperature is 50 degrees, so it's cooled off quite a bit.  The leaves are floating downward as they detach themselves from their life source.  The cycle of life presents itself everywhere we turn.  One definitely senses the seasonal changes that happen annually, as if they had made reservations a year in advance.  Mother Nature on one hand is very predictable, yet can be very unpredictable.  She definitely lets us know that She's in charge.  She can host a Garden Party in one place and a Demolishion Derby in another.  She is as sweet as She is brutal.

~My favorite photo from yesterday's trolley~

LAUGHTER

Maybe it's just me, but I think people need to laugh more.  Here's a quotation from a 1922 New York Tribune......

"When you are jovial, your health is good.  Laughter is the greatest of all physical exercise.  A good, real, unrestrained, hearty laugh is a sort of glorified internal massage, performed rapidly and automatically.  It manipulates and revitalizes corners and unexplored crannies of the system that are unresponsive to most other exercise methods.  There is not the remotest corner or little inlet of the minute blood vessels that does not feel some wavelet from the convulsion caused by good, hearty laughter.

"'Laughter,' says Dr. Hudeland, is an external expression of joy:  It is the most salutary of all bodily movements, for it agitates both the body and the soul at the same time, promotes digestion, circulation and perspiration and enlivens the vital power in every organ.'

"Laugh every day.  If you can't do it naturally, do it as a matter of duty, or conscience.  Laugh without cause and the cause will come.  If you can't laugh, smile.  A smile is a young laugh, a bud of a laugh, a laugh in the kindergarten stage of development.

"Let us have more robust, full-blooded, whole-souled, clean laughter of the kind that a man can share with his family as he would a pie--laughter that lapses into a long trail of reminiscent chuckles like the faint dying away of an echo."

BUCKET LIST

 I don't really have a Bucket List anymore, cuz most things have been crossed off.....except I've added one more.  What is it?

GO KAYAKING.  Yup, that's what I gotta do next summer.  This may require manpower to get me in and out of the kayak, but I think I know the right people.  (giggle)  All my life I've loved the water.....went fishing as a kid.....boating, water skiing and canoeing all my married life......but never went kayaking.  It only stands to reason that this should be on my Bucket List.

It's good for the soul to have something to look forward to.  My personality tends to lean on the side of caution these days, but I can think of nothing more fun than to get back on the water.  The ideal place would be on an Up North lake, but we have awesome canoeing and kayaking close to home, plus a couple of man-made lakes within easy driving distance.  

APPRECIATING FRIENDS

Bloody Mary

Dessert

 

Invitations to join friends in their homes for drinks and dinner are, to us, the finest way to dine.  Nothing is better than spending time with friends who share and care about each other.  

SELF-HELP

 "If it is out of your hands,

 keep it out of your mind, too."

This morning my FB feed brought these powerful words to me.  Best advice ever.  Working to discipline one's mind is far from easy, but is possible.  How do I know?  'Cuz I've had to do it in order to survive.

For years I read self-help books that introduced me to powerful and fresh paths of thinking.  Knowing I had to save myself from situations that were out of my hands, I turned to Barnes & Noble's Psychology section for my therapy sessions.  This may sound depressing, but my family was not and is not kind to me, with only two exceptions.  

Every story has two sides, I'm aware of that.  So many untruths have been told about me in the past years that I don't care anymore.  Rather than allow others to tear me apart, I made sure to build myself up, strengthen my inner source however I could/can.  We all respond differently to kinds of therapy.  Self-help is the idea of treating one's own emotional or psychological problems without the assistance of a therapist.  It is said to absolutely be something you can practice on your own to work on anxiety or depression.  I know it's possible, 'cuz I've done, and continue to do, it.

When one (myself) endures family alienation, a suicide, a murder, verbal abuse, plus other tragic and traumatic events, one needs something to lean on.  For 30 plus years I journaled.  Ordinary inexpensive Walmart notebooks that go on sale before school starts in August.....those were my journals.....I called my journaling 'puking on the page.'  Sadness needs a place to be dumped, no different than household garbage.  If we keep sadness and anger penned up within us, only we eventually buckle under the heavy weight.  Another useful tool was keeping a gratitude journal.....where every day I listed things that made me happy, focusing on the positives in my life rather than the negative.

After years of self-help, I finally reached the goal I was looking to attain.  Yup, I got to where I one day told the boyfriend, "I'm done.  My family will never hurt me again."  That's when I put an unbreakable and invisible wall around me.  That was the best day of my life.  Letting go is not like getting a divorce.  Getting a divorce still requires a couple to maintain some form of civility for the childrens' sakes.  My kind of letting go is more like cutting a ribbon that can never be re-tied.  When I said I was done, I was done.

When one takes such a major step, it's the only way we can no longer allow hurtful thoughts to erode our minds.  If those kinds of thoughts accidentally seep into my mind, well, I change gears and immediately start thinking about something positive.  That's self-help in a nutshell.

Do I still get upset over stuff?  Of course.  Do people still drive me crazy?  Of course.  I just don't give them any space inside my head.  I don't believe it when someone says, "I can't help it."  Oh, yes, you can.  If you truly want to.  We have an immense amount of self-protection built into us.  The master's degree comes when we achieve the level of strength it takes to be done once and for all.  

In my blogs, I often refer to self-help, but don't think I've ever explained myself.  Shakespeare said it best, "To thine own self be true."   Each of us really only has our self.  In the end, we're all we've got.  It makes only sense to take care of ourselves as best we can.  Other people are our greatest stressors in life due to jealousy, greed and what I call 'nastiness.'  If we fall prey to these people, they own us.  And, I vowed never to allow that to happen.  And, that my friends, is what I mean when I write about self-help.  I live by the mantra.......For every minute I am upset, I lose sixty seconds of happiness.  

The interesting part of my story is the fact that the people I shut out of my life....they could have cared less.  We think people have feelings for us, when, in fact, they don't.  We are experts at thinking ourselves to be more important than we actually are in others' lives.  

When we moved to Venny, one of the hardest things for me was parting with my self-help library.  No way could I bring all my beloved books with me, so I chose only a few of the ones I could not part with.  As for my 'big' box of written journals?  Well, I packed them up in a copy-paper box, duct taped them shut, and they went to the landfill, where I watched a big machine bury them amidst the garbage.  That, too, was a healing act, I got rid of all those emotions once and for all.  For the last sixteen years I've written a blog, and that's my therapy.  Each year my blogs get published in a hard-cover book and added to my late-life library authored by myself.  After I die, there will be no one who will want them and most likely they'll end up with my journals in the landfill.  But, you know what?  That's okay.  I'm used to it.  I'm immovable, as I like it.

CORN CRIBS

Corn Crib

Old structures that have been left to ruin are actually quite fascinating to those of us who are within a couple of inches of life's 10-inch ruler.   There are days we feel just like this old corn crib that's still standing, but no longer cared about.  It has served its purpose and is now in the way.  

We had a corn crib on our farm back in the 1950s.  I remember going in there for ears of corn, then taking them to the corn sheller.  

Corn Sheller

 When we come across these old structures, memories of childhood come from out of nowhere.  Rats were known to spend time in corn cribs, and farmers would tie the bottoms of their bib overalls with twine.  Why?  To keep the rats from running up their pant legs.  Yup, that's a fact.

These dilapidated buildings will one day soon topple over and be no more.  The old boards will be burned so something new and better can be put in their place.  It doesn't matter if we're human, animal or plant.  The cycle of existence is the same.

The trout hatchery was the first place I asked the boyfriend to stop the car so I could capture the structure of this tree.  Its branches (or bones) stretch across the road making an arch to drive under.  The road then leads back to a small bridge east of a natural spring waterfall.  The bonus of the photo is the blue-sky background.

Oh, I know, it's just an ordinary tree.  But, I see so much more.  To me, the tree looks tired and worn out, yet it puts all its strength into doing its part in the world.  Its leaves on top are thinning and some of its branches have already fallen off.   

Our grocery pickup time was scheduled for 4:30, which was a perfect time of day to drive around and capture the magic of the western sun.  Late afternoon highlights lighten up Mother Nature's seasonal attire.  House yards were decorated with pumpkins, bed-sheet ghosts dangling from branches and some scarecrows.  A big part of driving around is observing the personalities of the homeowners, which are reflected in their outdoor decorations.  Some homes are elegantly decorated, others with a definite sense of whimsy.  One does not have to travel far to see glorious sights that keep changing with the times of year.

In about a half hour our door bell will ring, and little Miss Buffy will arrive for a 3-day stay.  We're invited out for supper tonight, so Buffy will go visit her Gramma while we're gone.  She's one lucky little Yorkie....so many of us love her to pieces.  It's kind of a big deal when she comes to Venny for a stay-cation.  

One of the neatest things, for me, is to talk to a puppy.  Just look them in the eyes and talk.  Honestly, they seem to understand the universal language called love.  That's another one of life's absolutely amazing elements......this business of love that exists between species.  

Best get ready for the little girl's arrival.  Have a fun day, cuz that's what we're gonna do.  Ta-ta.