Georges Seurat
Born Dec. 2, 1859 into a rich family in Paris, Seurat was the founder of the 19th century French school of Neo-Impressionism oil painting, with technique for portraying the play of light using tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colours which became known as Pointillism. Georges Seurat oil paintings with tiny, detached strokes of pure colour too small to be distinguished when looking at the entire work but making his paintings shimmer with brilliance. His large work Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte his most famous painting, altered the direction of modern art by initiating Neo Impressionism, and is one of the icons of 19th century painting.