A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte Analysis

1035 Words5 Pages
The imagination and inspiration Stephen Sondheim has is truly remarkable. Stephen did the impossible by turning George Seurat’s painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” into a Pulitzer Prize winning musical, Sunday in the Park with George. As told in the beginning of the musical, the painting is George’s second major work that took two years to complete. The painting was created with thousands of dot-like brush strokes. Mr. Sondheim created a musical about the painter; George torn between his passion for his work and his relationship with one of the characters in the painting, Dot. In addition to George’s struggle, each character in the painting is represented in the musical with their own personal story. My knowledge…show more content…
Sondheim created a milestone with his production of Sunday in the Park with George. With the help of James Lapine, he was able to turn an elaborate painting into an extraordinary play by creating a story for each character. Also showing true dedication by staying relevant to the original portrait along with showing some of George’s other major works. Not only did they stay relevant to his work, but also to the hard work and knowledge it takes to produce paintings. For example, in the beginning George announces to the audience “White, a blank page or canvas. The challenge: bring order to the whole, through design, composition, tension, balance, light and harmony.” These are elements that are important to take into consideration when producing an art piece. These elements were repeated and shown again and again throughout the first act. In addition, the production contrasts most productions with its unique factors. Instead of continuing the story about George and Dot in the Act II, Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Lapine changed the traditional norm by fast forwarding the plot to one hundred years later and still making it related. All these factors combined is the reason why it made for such a milestone, it was something different than anyone has seen
Show More
Related

  • Seurat And Jatte

    1743 Words  | 7 Pages

    A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat, is a massive 81-3/4" x 10'-1/4" oil on canvas painting which took two years to complete is the topic of this analysis. This painting is a prime resource for analysis of the color pallet and technique of the era and the profound and provocative resulting effects of this artwork. This painting is an exquisite example of the divisionism or pointillism painting technique which was a divergence from the previous painting styles

    Read More

More about A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte Analysis

Open Document