Authors

Lai Wei

Type

Text

Type

Thesis

Advisor

Rubin, James H | Mather, David | Uroskie, Andrew.

Date

2016-12-01

Keywords

Art history

Department

Department of Art History and Criticism

Language

en_US

Source

This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76771

Publisher

The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.

Format

application/pdf

Abstract

The thesis discuss about the ideal of democracy in the art of George Seurat, a French Post- Impressionist artist in late 19th Century. Seurat has been commonly read as an artist of “scientific†method. This paper explores the definition and perception of “science†in Seurat’s lived social historical environment. It also evaluates whether his methods are authentically scientific by examining his sources of his methods. My argument is instead of defining Seurat as scientific, “democratic†would be a more accurate description. Seurat’s democratic attitudes are demonstrated by his selection of subject matter, his methods of production, and the influence of popular imagery on his art making. By applying a social art history methodology, this paper examines Seurat’s major works of different stages along with the social historical facts in his age to propose the idea that Seurat is democratic rather than scientific. | 35 pages

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