Seated Woman with a Parasol 1884 - 1885

This conté crayon drawing titled, "Seated Woman with a Parasol," was created by Georges Seurat, the French Post-Impressionist painter. Here, the parasol serves as more than just a shield from the sun; it’s a symbol of bourgeois leisure and societal norms. Recall the ancient Near East, where parasols were emblems of royalty, their shadows bestowing a divine aura on the bearer. In Seurat’s depiction, the parasol suggests a psychological barrier, a subtle distancing from the external world, reflecting the sitter's internal state. Across time, this emblem of shade and status has persisted, appearing in various forms from ancient friezes to Renaissance portraits. Think of Botticelli’s Venus emerging from the sea; she, too, is often depicted with a cloth held aloft, echoing the protective gesture of Seurat’s parasol. The cyclical progression of these symbols reveals our continuous grappling with identity, status, and the human desire for protection.