Sponsored by Chelsea Classical Studio

This collection of drawings, executed by Georges Seurat as a young man in his twenties in approximately the six years between 1880 - 86, are remarkable both for being done exclusively in Conté crayon and for being painterly statements in a linear medium. Conté crayon, being a hard crayon made of charcoal and a wax or clay binder, does not lend itself to blending and shading in the same way that willow charcoal and graphite pencil do. I remember it in drawing class at art school as lending itself to line rather than block-ins; it could be blended, but because of the binder one had to rub really hard to soften it. It was nice for the controlled strokes it could achieve, and the fact that it didn’t smudge nearly as much as the standard willow or compressed charcoal. It could also be broken into squares and used as you would a palette knife, dragging it across the paper like a brush, but again a light touch was critical.

The fact that Seurat chose Conté as his main drawing medium is intriguing because the way he uses it mimics the way he uses oils in his paintings. He works in small patient strokes that build up the volume and value, blending optically rather than manually. In Conté crayon this technique makes perfect sense, because blending with a stump or finger would smear the waxy medium into the paper, destroying the integrity of the surface of the paper, and Seurat never does this; his drawings are a wonderful study in sensitivity of handling, despite the darkness of value. It makes one wonder how much of his oil paint handling, which likewise shows a lightness of touch and minimal blending (he eliminated it altogether in his later works) was influenced by his frequent use of Conté crayon. The small, fluid strokes he employed while painting are very much reminiscent of the light swirling layers in his drawings. The fact that he had a predilection for Conté is proven by the fact that his first work ever exhibited at the Salon (in 1883) was the Conté portrait of his friend Aman-Jean. This portrait, so bold and simple in its forms and yet so sensitively handled, is really striking. It also showcases the way the texture of the paper is allowed to play a role, bringing a sparkling night-sky effect to the overall darkness where the grain of the paper shows through (you can even see, in the upper left-hand corner, the imprint of the paper ‘Michallet’.) Enjoy the selection of conté works by Seurat, ranging from finished drawings to quick location sketches and value studies, below. 

Georges Seurat, Aman-Jean, Conté crayon, c. 1882

Georges Seurat, The Black Bow, Conté crayon, c. 1882

Georges Seurat, A Man Gleaning, Conté crayon over graphite, c. 1883

Georges Seurat, Madame Seurat, the Artist’s Mother, Conté crayon, c. 1882

Georges Seurat, Approach to the Bridge at Courbevole, Conté crayon, 1886 

Georges Seurat, The Veil, Conté crayon, 1882 

Georges Seurat, The Sidewalk Show, Conté crayon, c. 1883 

Georges Seurat, Fort de la Halle, Conté crayon, c.1882

Georges Seurat, Pierrot and Colombine, Conté crayon, c. 1886