Georges Seurat was a French painter who originated the theory and practice of neo-impressionism. Born in Paris, Seurat was trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He rejected the soft, irregular brushstrokes of impressionism in favor of pointillism, a technique he developed whereby solid forms are constructed by applying small, close packed dots of unmixed color to a white background. His masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, uses this technique as its dotted brushwork makes the figures seem half substance, half shadow. This painting led the way to the end of Impressionism. It is being exhibited in the Art Institute of Chicago.