Final study for "La Grande Jatte"

This Metropolitan Museum canvas is the final compositional study for Un Dimanche à La Grande Jatte — the last step before executing the famous large canvas now in Chicago. The final study has a higher degree of finish than earlier panels, with the Pointillist technique applied systematically across the entire composition. Working through a series of studies was central to Seurat's method: he approached a major painting as an engineer might approach a construction, testing and refining each element before executing the finished work. The Metropolitan's study offers a unique view of his working process in miniature.

The Pointillist technique is fully deployed in this final study — small, systematically placed dots of pure color that blend optically in the viewer's eye. The composition already matches the famous large canvas in its essential structure: the parade of figures, the river, the distant bank. Color harmony is carefully calibrated throughout.