Sunday in the Park with Georges

One of my all time favorite paintings is located in the Art Institute of Chicago; Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat. As opposed to the majority of famous paintings, this one is actually much larger than I expected it to be. That there is Tyler standing next to it. It was really cool to see the famous dots up close and personal. The Art Institue people have put this work right in the center of the first room you walk into so no one forgets to see it. Here's a picture of Georges:

Sara and I have a deep personal connection with this painting since we have actually been to and lived right by the actual island of La Grande Jatte. The Seine runs through Paris and then wraps around the city North and then East creating a Northern border of the city. I lived in a community called Levallois, which is located between the 17th arrondissement of Paris and the Northern leg of the Seine. The Island of the Grande Jatte is in this Northern branch of the Seine, and belongs partially to Levallois, and partially to the city of Neuilly-sur-Seine (once mayored by Nicolas Sarkozy). One Sunday afternoon we took a stroll from one side of the island to the other, all the while trying our hardest to not get stung by the many bees that live, work and play on the island. It really does look just like the painting!

Some other paintings of note that we saw at the Art Institute of Chicago include Le Chahut, also by Georges Seurat (I mention this one because I very much liked it), American Gothic, by Grant Wood, and Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. Since the Art Institute of Chicago is a working art school, there are a number of students with their easels set up practicing their studies among the masterpieces. Seeing their attempts to redo the pieces further proves that art's hard stuff, and very much worth the trip to Chicago.