Seurat, Georges (1887-8). Circus Sideshow [oil on canvas]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960.

I think it's magical how Seurat can create a more than "understandable" depiction with a single element: point, or dot. The character of the work is stiff, but the other side of that same quality is pleasing order. This work is simply masterful for a handful more reasons, but two more I'll mention is (first) the comfortable, warm, analogous color scheme he employs. Second, the full value range is used, creating expert contrast, as well as more dull, subordinate areas on the canvas. |

The title of this work, which is the subject, is presented with (at least) two extraordinary innovations. First, it is rendered through pointillism, which as an artistic technique took it's rightful intermediate place (before Cubism) in the evolution of abstraction characteristic of the 19th and 20th centuries. Second, the pain-staking and nearly infinite use of the golden proportion to organize the content requires acknowledgement.

The entire work is constructed through the use of point. Edges are implied through stark contrasts in color and/or value from adjacent areas. Through gestalt, a form is created. Subordinate shapes are arranged with rhythmic spacing to frame and direct attention to the central figure. Geometric shapes are formed across the top, organic at the bottom, both effectively balancing and framing the vertical edges of the composition. Spatial order is well-crafted. Diminishing detail, diminution and value contrast are used to do this.

I believe this work is approximately symmetrical. Horizontal and vertical tipping points, as well as the overall composition, are stable, near the center of the picture plane. The Fibonacci series is seamlessly imbedded throughout to create an underlying architecture. It creates a somewhat rigid feel to the painting, but other strategies Seurat uses infuses warmth and life.

Equivalency characterizes this work. A full range of values, curvilinear versus straight edges and natural versus geometric shapes all balance off of each other. Dominance is sparse: rusty diluted colors and a complementary color scheme overwhelmingly favoring a base orange hue. Edges, lines of sight and implied lines all are nearly completely vertical and horizontal. This could be argued to be a precursor to the Swiss grid system of a century later. Tension starts with the central figure and is dictated by this skeletal framework.

The viewer is just that: A spectator in the audience enjoying the show. This work has no "flaws" I can identify. Of the many strengths it has, the most impressive is how Seurat has organized visual elements and implied lines of motion along a complicated yet identifiable framework of perpendicular and corner-to-corner diagonal lines. They all take advantage of the golden ratio to either anchor or define edges. This is truly a masterful work.