Sun

In the foreground of this painting you
can clearly see a monkey being walked
on a lead by a the woman in blue. At
this time Monkeys were fashionable to
have as pets, however a female
monkey was also to be Known as a
woman who is a prostitute.
In the foreground of this painting three
unlikely figures from different social classes
are positioned sitting next to each other in
the shade. At the front is a muscular man
smoking a pipe while laid back, in cheaper
clothing. Positioned behind him is an
educated lady reading her book and finally
there is a business man sat up right with his
cane and top hat. Even though Seurat has
position this figures in close proximity on the
canvas none of them are intellectually
engaging with one another.
The woman in the orange dress on the left hand
side is fishing. In the French language the word
to fish and to sin are very similar with only an
accent different. During Seurat’s time puns were
a popular thing and so it is believed that Seurat
is depicting this woman as a prostitute because
she is fishing for men. Further in the
background two men can be seen walking away
which appear to look like Toy Soldiers which is
thought to be a possible “catch” of the woman in
orange.