A Sunday on La Grande Jatte -- 1884, 1884-86 Georges Seurat, French, 1859-1891 Oil on canvas, 81 3/4 x 121 1/4 in. (207.5 x 308.1 cm) Inscribed at lower right: Seurat Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection, 1926.224

Seurat was working from a 'scientific' theory of light and color, and he used little dots and dashes of pure color that would blend when viewed from a distance. Looking very close, one can see these dots. The other Impressionists hated it, and "Monet and Renoir refused to exhibit with Seurat," (From Monet to Van Gogh: A History of Impressionism, course book for the Teaching Company's lectures by Richard Brettell). In contrast, Caillebotte's efforts were not so experimental, for according to Brettell, critics of the day considered his artwork so conventional as to be 'academic':

Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877 Gustave Caillebotte, French, 1848-1894 Oil on canvas, 83 1/2 x 108 3/4in. (212.2 x 276.2 cm) Inscribed at lower left: G. Caillebotte. 1877 Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection, 1964.336 Large size under this link!

There is a Gauguin I love, a young woman in a demure blue and what striped dress holding a fan, against a background of almost hieroglyphs and figures of her ancestors: The Ancestors of Tehamana OR Tehamana Has Many Parents (Merahi metua no Tehamana), 1893 Paul Gauguin, French, 1848-1903 Oil on canvas, 30 1/16 x 21 3/8 in. (76.3 x 54.3 cm) Signed lower center: P. Gauguin. / 93 Inscribed lower left: MERAHI METUA NO / TEHAMANA Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Deering McCormick, 1980.613 The Renoirs are gorgeous, every one, but I especially remember a serene and elegant lady: Madame Léon Clapisson, 1883 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French, 1841-1919 Oil on canvas, 32 5/8 x 25 5/8 in. (81.8 x 65.2 cm) Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection, 1933.1174 I did find Calder's "Flying Dragon" looking rather earthbound, being nestled within exuberant garden growth. After a visit to the Museum shop and purchase of postcards and a cool 'shiny thing', I headed homeward. Now I have time for a much needed nap! But first, I will call Julia...

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