looking at art

while my friend miss anderson was in town, mr. pike and i took her to the art institute of chicago.

our visit took me back to my first visit to an art museum -- a visit with my sister to the national gallery of art. as a young girl, i was mesmerized by the soft colors and lines of impressionistic works. my favorite was renoir's a girl with a watering can. i wanted to be that little girl with the red ribbon in her hair, walking through a beautiful rose garden.

since then, i have been a fan of renoir's and other impressionists like mary cassatt, claude monet, and camille pissarro. then i discovered pointillism. and i am taken back when i see thousands and thousands of little dots creating a larger image. georges seurat is one of my favorites. and the art institute is the home of one of his most famous paintings.

so our first stop at the institute -- a glimpse of georges seurat's sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jatte.

what an amazing painting, and such a talented painter.