La Grande Jatte, an island park in the Seine on the outskirts of Paris , was a favourite place for Sunday afternoon strolls and outdoor recreation. It is here recorded in a sketch made forSeurat’s more formal and intricately planned canvas owned by The Art Institute of Chicago . The sketch combines Impressionist innovations and subject matter withSeurat’s own disciplined method, and catches the atmosphere of a summer afternoon.

Seuratcontinued the Impressionists’ study of colour on a scientific basis and devised a new method of painting known as “pointillism.” He placed spots of colour next to each other on the canvas so that from a distance of several feet the forms and local colours of the composition came into focus. This method enabled him to create the shimmering effect – so striking here - of coloured objects seen in sunlight and shadow.