When did Seurat begin the painting ?
But the understanding of the laws of contrast , the methodical separation of elements -- light , shade , local colour , and the interaction of colours -- as well as their proper balance and proportion gave this canvas its perfect harmony . ’Less flatteringly , an anonymous reviewer of Durand - Ruel ’s Impressionist Exhibition in New York City wrote in the newspaper " The Sun " that , “ The great master , from his own point of view , must surely be Seurat whose monstrous picture of " The Bathers " consumes so large a part of the Gallery D. This is a picture conceived in a coarse , vulgar , and commonplace mind , the work of a man seeking distinction by the vulgar qualification and expedient of size .