Georges Seurat decided early on to become an artist. He studied at a municipal drawing school under the sculptor Justin Lequien. Then worked 1878-80 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the studio of Lehmann, a pupil of Ingres.
In 1879, he saw an exhibition by some young painters called the Impressionists. They were not popular at the time because they painted in a new way. After training at the École des Beaux-Arts, Georges Seurat broke free of tradition. Seurat combined a traditional approach, based on his academic training, with a study of modern techniques, such as Impressionism. He also applied ideas from contemporary optical theories of colour relationships. Seurat's disciplined work, which contrasts with that of many of his Impressionist contemporaries, was very influential.
Seurat was also interested in the science behind the art, and he did a good deal of reading on perception, color theory and the psychological power of line and form.
In 1884 he and other artists (including Maximilien Luce) formed the Societe des Artistes Independants. There he met and befriended fellow artist Paul Signac.
In the summer of 1884 Seurat began work on his masterpiece, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, which took him two years to complete.
Georges Seurat (1859–1891)
