The Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp 1885

Georges Seurat painted "The Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp," an oil on canvas, around 1885. Immediately striking is the painting’s textured surface, built from countless tiny dots of colour. This pointillist technique is not merely decorative; it’s a calculated effort to break down form into its most basic, chromatic components. Seurat was deeply interested in colour theory and the science of perception. His application of pointillism can be seen as an attempt to objectively capture the way light and colour interact. The systematic, almost mathematical approach to painting is evident in the structured composition, which balances the solid mass of the cliff against the vast expanse of the sea and sky. This contrast destabilizes traditional landscape painting, where nature is seen as a unified whole. Ultimately, "The Bec du Hoc" is a work that invites ongoing analysis, challenging us to reconsider how we see and understand the world through the language of art.