Seated Boy with Straw Hat, study for Bathers at Asnières 1883 - 1884

Georges Seurat made this drawing of a seated boy with a straw hat as a preparatory study for his famous painting, Bathers at Asnières. Seurat was painting during a time of rapid industrialization and urbanization in France. Here, Seurat’s subject is a working-class youth in the Parisian suburbs. But notice anything unusual about the way he's portrayed? The drawing is clearly a study for something larger. It’s not a realistic snapshot, but rather a carefully composed and idealized figure. Seurat made the drawing using a technique called ‘Conté crayon’ that creates subtle tonal variations and a soft, hazy effect. Consider how the art institutions of the time shaped the way artists like Seurat thought about their work. The art world operated according to clear hierarchies. "Academic" painting was considered superior to the kind of modern subject and technique that Seurat explored. But Seurat and his contemporaries sought to challenge these existing social norms. Historians consult exhibition reviews and artists' correspondence to better understand how this work challenged the status quo.