Cobbler at Work c. 1879 - 1880

Georges Seurat sketched this cobbler at work with graphite on paper, though the exact date remains unknown. This drawing offers us a glimpse into the life of the working class in late 19th-century France, a period marked by significant social and economic change. Seurat, known for his pointillist paintings, here adopts a more intimate approach, focusing on the solitary figure of the cobbler. Consider the implications of representing labor at a time when industrialization threatened traditional trades. How might Seurat be commenting on the value, or perhaps the precarity, of this man's work? We are invited to reflect on the social and economic realities of the time, and to consider the human element often overshadowed by broader historical narratives. What does it mean to capture the quiet dignity of labor?