"Bedlam", "scandal" and "hilarity" were among the epithets used to describe what is now considered Georges Seurat's greatest work, and one of the most remarkable paintings of 19th century, when it was first exhibited in Paris. Seurat labored extensively over A Sunday on La Grande Jatte - 1884, reworking the original as well as completing numerous preliminary drawings and oil sketches (the Art Institute has one such sketch and two drawings). With what resembles scientific precision, he tackled the issues of color, light, and form. Inspired by research in optical and color theory, he juxtaposed tiny dots of colors that, through optical blending, form a single and, Seurat believed, more brilliantly luminous hue in the viewer's eye.