Georges Seurat is best known for his novel technique of painting in tinydots of color - the method known as 'pointillism', which he devised according to rigid scientific principles. A proud man, but extremely shy by nature, he spent most of his time reading books or painting in the isolation of his studio. He was intensely secretive, jealously guarding his latest discoveries from even his closest friends.

Seurat was attracted by much the same subjects as his Impressionist contemporaries - seascapes, summer by river seine, the entertainers of the Parisian of the night clubs. But instead of recoeding fleeting impressions, he imposed a scene of stillness and order on his world. Seurat's whole career was compressed into 12 years of patient activity. He died tragically young, probably from meningitis, at the… Click here to read more