Seated Figures, Study for La Grande Jatte

Seurat prepared Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte through an extraordinary quantity of preparatory drawings and oil studies — this Seated Figures study represents the meticulous preparation that distinguished his practice from the spontaneity prized by his Impressionist predecessors. Working from 1884 to 1886 on the final canvas, Seurat made over fifty preparatory studies, each examining specific figure groupings, poses, and compositional relationships. The seated figures in this study correspond to figures in the right-centre of the final composition, showing the formal, almost sculptural quality he sought.

Built with conté crayon or direct paint in broad masses of light and dark rather than the divided colour of the final work. Figures are simplified into near-geometric shapes with minimal internal detail, exploring mass and silhouette. The purpose was spatial and compositional rather than chromatic.