A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a famous painting by French post-Impressionist artist Georges Seurat. This painting is important in the art world as it “altered the direction of modern art by initiating Neo-impressionism, and is one of the icons of late 19th-century painting.”
But then why write or talk about this painting? Well, I was reading Richard Feynman’s What Do You Care What Other People Think? There’s a part in the book where he mentions the influence his mother had on him and that got me thinking about my own childhood.
Specifically, I remembered how our home used to be warm and full of love, I remember days I would spend on the sitting room floor while my mother watched TV and I would be reading/paging through books. One of my favorites was an Atlas of the world and an Encyclopædia Britannica.
With the Encyclopædia, I used to spend hours flipping through those pages and this went on for years, to about an age I could read more and more of what was in the book.
As far as images go, one that’s rooted in my early memory is that of the “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” painting. I was fascinated and in deep wonder as to why this painting was included in there. the older I got to maybe around 8 to 10 my reading improved and I understood why.
Now the painting is one of my all-time favorites because of what it represents, a time of simplicity, love, and happiness in my life.
I grew up to become what you might call a polymath, a person of wide knowledge or learning. I’ve always enjoyed reading up on science, philosophy, art, etc… from a very young age and still do. This was sparked by my mother all those years ago, maybe it was because we couldn’t afford many toys but her decision to keep me busy through playing with books, reading and expanding my knowledge has made me the person I am today.