Today I post my thought on artist research I have done about modern British artist Tacita Dean and a post impressionist painter (1859-1891) Georges Seurat.

As it is recommended in our learning materials on page 68 Drawing 1: Drawing skills, we should start by listing the similarities and the differences. I checked on artworks of both artists and picked up some below. Even though Tacita Dean is more  known for her film works, she has notable artworks such as her blackboard paintings. Seurat’s images are many and I have looked through them as well. Below I post them and I share my thoughts about the differences and similarities after. I also watched a video on YouTube on Smarthistory.art channel about a study of his most famous work “A Sunday afternoon on the Island of grand Jatte”- a conversation of Khan Academy  with Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. I must say that this was one of the best – meaningfull and teaching  video art conversations I have ever watched.  In this video conversation Dr Harris and Dr Zucker explain very well  Seurat’s scientific approach and scientific phenomenon of this artwork.  I have read an article by Helena Deylan, February, 2002 at Tate.org “The Roaring Forties: Seven Boards in Seven Days” about Tacita Dean’s works.

“Fatigues” by Tacita Dean,  2012, chalk on blackboard via Marian Goodman gallery, artobserver.com

Georges Seurat

”A Sunday afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” (1884-86), artstory.org

La Seine à la Grande-Jatte (1888), theartstory.org

Bathers at  (1884), artstory.org

“ Pierrot and Colombine,” conté crayon on paper, from around 1887-88, Kasama Nichido Museum of Art

 

Below are my thoughts about the differences :

1) Seurat was very interested in colours  and theory of colour. He was particularly interested in problem of bringing true nature’s colors onto his drawings.  Dean’s drawings are  black and white.

2) Seurat worked with placing tiny soft  dots and strikes, while Tacita Dean  draws with long strokes and lines.

3)   The mood created by artists is very different. Seurat’s works – landscapes  are calm and piece full,  Dean’s works are aggressive and anxious.

4) Seaurat’s Lanscape paintings have many objects: people, trees, animals, water and sky. Dean’s landscapes usually contain 1-2 objects which are either mountains only, or sea and the sky.

Similarities:

To find similarities is very hard, at least for me they are not obvious at all.  However, probably they do have a similarity  if  to compare Dean’s “Fatigues”  and Seurat’s drawings which he did in black and white: “ Pierrot and Colombine,” conté crayon on paper, from around 1887-88 and  a “Square House,” conté crayon on paper.  On these artworks we can observe lot of strong lines.  I can say that another common feature of artworks of both artists  that they both are very precise when they draw. The objects are drawn/painted in a very  precise  manner. In Seurat’s paintings all objects are very distinct and clearly visible, on Dean’s drawings we  also can see very small numerous details of sea waves and mountin’s glaciers.

Reference list:

1)”A Sunday afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” (1884-86), conversation for Khan Academy Dr Ben Harris and Dr Steven Zucker,  theartstory.org,

2) Helena Deylan, February, “The Roaring Forties: Seven Boards in Seven Days”, 2002 at Tate.org

3) Roberta Smith, “Seurat, Drawing His Way to the Grande Jatte”, The New York Times, Oct. 2007

4) “Georges Seurat French Draftsman and Painter”, The Art Story, artstory.com