The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower by Georges Seurat was painted in 1889 as oil on wood panel and is typical of his French Post-Impressionist style.

The painting of arguably France's most famous landmark is created using tiny and precise dots and paint strokes in order to create a dreamy yet accurate portrayal of the Eiffel Tower.

Georges Seurat utilised precise geometric dimensions in order to then be able to play so artfully with colour and technique. The colours are vivid and bright, with the top of the Eiffel Tower disappearing dreamily into the clouds above.

As an artist, Georges Seurat was famous for his use of colour, and he pioneered a technique called Pointillism, which meant using a collection of small dots in order to create a large and easily recognisable image.

Pointillism was very much influenced by the techniques of Impressionism and helps to trick the viewer's eye into blurring together all of these tiny dots and delicate brushwork into a fuller, more defined image. The technique was at first mocked by critics, but has seen go on to find worldwide respect and acclaim both inside and outside of the artworld itself.

The Eiffel Tower was always a great point of interest for Georges Seurat, himself a Parisian native, and he began his art studies at the famous Ecole Municipale de Sculpture et Dessin. This initial training helped to cement Georges Seurat's interest in contrasts, taking inspiration from the classics and Old Masters in order to shape his own techniques, of which The Eiffel Tower is of course a great example.

He was also greatly inspired by the artist Eugene Delacroix, who was also renowned for his use of colour. As Georges Seurat began to grow as an artist in his own right, he pulled away from Impressionism and focused more of his time using his own Pointillism techniques. During this time, Georges Seurat also went on to set up the artistic group, Le Société des Artistes Independants, in order to further the cultivation of new ideas between fellow artists of a similar mindset, including Henri-Edmond Cross and Paul Signac.

As with The Eiffel Tower by Georges Seurat, the artist often drew inspiration from the world and sights around him, with other well-known paintings including Bathers at Asnieres and A Sunday afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte. The Eiffel Tower by Georges Seurat was painted towards the end of his career and currently hangs in the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.