Poplars Gm-00030001

Georges Seurat (French, 1859–1891) "[E]ven [Georges Seurat's] simple sketches are so studied in contrast and gradation that one could paint from them without seeing the model again," said Seurat's contemporary, painter Paul Signac.

Seurat's large, velvety forms show dark poplar trees barely emerging from an even darker sky, their bases rooted in the meadow. Several more poplars stand at the right, more shadowy still. Clearly visible through the Conté crayon rubbing, the watermark MICHALLET emphasizes the paper's surface. This nearly abstract drawing, with its complete lack of edges among the forms, is a study in the pure interaction of light and shadow.

When Seurat returned to Paris in 1880, he spent two years drawing in only black and white. This choice allowed him to explore the phenomenon of light's interpenetration and reflection. While absorbed in his preoccupation with gradation and contrast rather than line, he soon mastered the balance of massing light and dark. He developed a unique method of rubbing Conté crayon across highly textured paper, which gave him a variety of tones according to the degree of pressure he applied.

Our Cards are all printed on 100% cotton tree-free archival paper. All Cards include a recycled kraft envelope in a protective sleeve individually hand wrapped for you. Each card is printed one at a time and hand bound here in Lugano, Switzerland. We ship all over the world via SwissPost. Please allow 5-9 business days for us to make them and 5-7 business days for transit. Art Prints are printed on heavy matte finish German art paper using the finest Canon archival inks. Frame is black natural with a white mattboard and Acrylite glazing.

Wall Murals are printed on 42" matte finish, self-adhesive Kodak PhotoText fabric panels that combine and mount easily on a non textured wall surface. We can custom make to any size, just ask.

Stretched Canvas is stretched by hand over 1.5" thick pine bars and printed on cotton poly matte finish canvas. Each canvas is hand coated with Hahnemuhle UV/Archive coating, these are Swiss quality best in industry canvases.

All our images are digitized from the original negative, printed and assembled in Switzerland to museum standards by our master printer.

All of our products are popular and custom made by hand to order, please allow 2-4 weeks to make them and 1-2 weeks for shipment anywhere in the world.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.