Term Paper 1st Draft Georges Seurat’s painting Models (Poseuses) is a rather large oil on canvas painting that can be found at the Barnes Foundation. The painting stands at 73 ¾ by 98 ¾ inches. It is thought that the painting was done somewhere between 1886-1888. Depicted in the painting is 3 models getting dressed, one is standing in the center looking at the viewer, the other to the right is sitting down putting on socks, and the other to the left has her back to the viewer. Strewn around the room are different articles of clothing and shoes, while in the background is a picture of another one of Seurat’s paintings, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte.” Georges Seurat was a French neoimpressionist painter in the 19th century. Seurat was born in 1859 and passed away in 1891 at the age of 31, after dying of pneumonia. He was well known for creating the pointillist style of paining by using tiny dots of color. He used a method called divisionism, which is defined as “a systematic refinement of the broken color of the impressionists.” Some of his more famous pieces are Baignade and Un Dimance à la Grande Jatte (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte), which is pictured in the background of Models, as mentioned earlier. Seurat is a very well known painter and his work had a great impact on the art community, and he is well recognized for his “influence in restoring harmonious and deliberate design and a thorough understanding of color combination to painting at a time when sketching from nature had become the mode” (Columbia). His work can be found at the Tate Gallery in London, the Louvre in Paris, and also the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.
Imitation theory suggests that art is in some way an imitation of life. This theory suggests that art is meant to reproduce the reality of nature, human life, or human actions. When examining the painting Models by Seurat, an imitation theorist would have one major criticism to start off, and that is what is depicted in the background. As mentioned earlier, Seurat’s Un Dimanche à La Grande Jatte is imitated in the background of the painting. This is an imitation of an imitation, which an imitation theorist would be critical of since it is not a direct mockery of life. Plato would be even more critical. Plato believed that what we see on a day-to-day basis is considered the visible realm, and everything we see here is just an imitation of the forms, in the invisible realm. Plato already viewed art as “not only useless and frivolous, but also extremely unrealistic. When painters or sculptors imitate a person, they merely supply us with an image of that person. The image of a person belongs to another order than that of a real human being” (Braembussche). Therefore, if Plato were to view this painting, he would think it to be even more useless than your average painting, because it includes an imitation of an imitation of an imitation. As for the rest of the painting, it is a depiction of human behavior and action, so imitation theorists would hold it with high regard, because it is so well done.
Another way of thinking about this piece is through a feminist lens. The feminist theory seeks justice for women, and promotes a world where men and women are treated equally. In the painting, Seurat painted nude models getting dressed. This was typical for the time period, and this style can be found in many art galleries still today. As Freeland described, “museum walls are dominated by female and not male nudes, done by male and not female painters…Male artists have often seen women as not only sexual objects but simultaneously as their inspirations and muses” (97). This pattern has angered many feminists throughout the years, one example being the Guerrilla Girls. Seurat was aware that “the use of [models] had an expected sexual and, sometimes, artistic outcome” (Nowlin). This is part of the reason he chose the title he chose, “Poseuses.” The Barnes Foundation translates the title to mean models, however the word for models in French is actually “modèles.” Poseur has another meaning, the word was traditionally “used as slang to refer to the affected nature of women who spent time in concert halls, which were often considered a breeding ground for deplorable acts” (Nowlin). This is evidence that Seurat did, in fact view these women as sexual objects and did not have respect for them. From a feminist theory standpoint, this piece of artwork only perpetuates the injustice of the male-dominated art world.
Another way to view this piece of art is through the eyes of a formalist theorist. Formalist theory appreciates art for its form, composition, or technique. Formalist theory relies on taste, which is the ability to help recognize quality within a piece of artwork. As Freeland described, “to make beautiful art requires human genius, the special ability to manipulate materials so that they create a harmony of the faculties causing viewers to respond with distanced enjoyment” (Freeland 10). Seurat said that he “committed himself to four large canvases of combat” and one of them is his Poseuses. When he first began work on this piece, even his critics and friends “questioned whether pointillism was capable of depicting the classic subject matter of the female nude” (Nowlin 3). Some critics thought it to be a “masterpiece for the new generation,” while others called it “rachitic and disease-ridden” (Nowlin 3). Despite the critiques it received at the time, his neo-impressionist style is something that is still celebrated to this day, and Poseuses is one of Seurat’s most admired works.
This work of art is symbolic of the style of art that manipulated a generation of artists. Different theorists will pick apart particular aspects of this painting and make critiques. Imitation theorists criticize this artwork for the incorporation of another painting in the background. Viewing the painting through a feminist lens, Seurat’s incorporation of nude models is considered disrespectful. However, formalist theorists will continue to praise Seurat for his technique and styles of neo-impressionism and pointillism. These criticisms do not change the fact that Seurat’s Poseuses is a timeless piece that will be honored as one of his best for several years

Works Cited

Braembussche, A. A. Van Den. Thinking Art: An Introduction to Philosophy of Art.
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Freeland, Cynthia A. Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003.
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Nowlin, Kaitlin Veronica. "The Models' Morality: A Study of Seurat's "Les Poseuses"."
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"Seurat, Georges." The Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press,
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