NAME: ADRIAN H.

GARCIA
COURSE: BSHRM 4

ACTIVITY #1
ART CRITICISM PROCESS

TITLE: A SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON THE ISLAND OF LA GRANDE JATTE

by Georges Seurat
ARTWORK: VISUAL ART

1. Describe: The painting shows a group of people standing and sitting around the island
shore. The clothes that they are wearing was an old style or fashion. The women are
wearing large skirts with hats and umbrella on their hands while most of men are wearing
top hats. There are lot of people sitting around and looking at the grandeur of island.

2. Analyze: The painting shows a contrast of light and dark colors. The artist creates space
by having the beach and people go back in the painting. There are no real lines because it
is painted in a pointillist style. The artist also show texture in the dresses and on the grass.
It also used different color values on the clothes and grass to show the difference between
the shaded area and sunny area. The painting shows a realistic scene.
3. Interpret: The painting depicts fashionable Parisians enjoying a Sunday afternoon at a
popular beauty spot located on the River Seine between Neuilly and Levallois-Perret. As
for me, the painting is about people gathering and relaxing around the island shore on a
sunny afternoon, and it merely shows how people appreciates and maintain the beauty of
nature. Looking at this painting, it gives me a feeling of joy and warmth because the
characters on the painting are somehow showing ease on their faces and they looked calm
and relaxed. The things in the artwork represents symbols such as a well-dressed woman
that holds a fishing pole, alluding to the 'fishing' conducted by the bourgeois prostitutes of
the area. The standing lady has a fashionable capuchin monkey as a pet. This identifies her
as another prostitute since the French word for 'female monkey' was also slang for a woman
of loose morals. A small girl dressed in white stares out at the viewer from the center of
the composition, as if to ask, "what will happen to all these contented members of the
bourgeoisie?" As well as these allusions to the social and political content of the picture,
Seurat also includes a dash of patriotism: a boat is shown flying the French national flag,
and two soldiers stand at attention as a musician plays the national anthem. The artist
creates this artwork to show the real situation of the place.

4. Judge: Based on my point of view, this painting is a good painting because the artist uses
different style to present the meaning of the art and uses different colors. The artwork really
communicates and conveys the idea, feeling and principle it aimed because it uses elements
of arts such as millions of dots in order to expresses in main focus. Based on this artwork,
more people will show appreciation and love to our nature and they will be enlightened on
what kind of people are living in that specific place.