Seurat's Les Poseuses in the Context of French Realist Literature

Seurat's Les Poseuses (1886-88) is interpreted as a pictorial manifesto incorporating literary as well as visual sources. In addition to parallels between Les Poseuses and images from works by Duranty, the Goncourts and Zola, there is evidence that the painting responds to artistic and social issues explored in French Realist literature. Seurat's stylistic synthesis of Realism and Classicism is as unique as the style developed by Duranty's Louis Martin; his technique is as scientific as the method advocated by Zola. And his subject matter, which answers Zola's demand for modernity, also addresses the status of artists' models and anti-Semitism in contemporary artistic circles. (KPA)