Île de la Jatte
The Ile de la Jatte or Île de la Grande Jatte is an island in France, in the river Seine, at the very gates of Paris, in the communes of Neuilly-sur-Seine and Levallois, Hauts-de-Seine. It is 7 km distant (in a straight line) from the towers of Notre Dame and 3 km from the Etoile. It has about 4,000 inhabitants and is nearly 2 km long and nearly 200 m wide at its widest point. Its name translates as "Island of the Bowl" or "Island of the Big Bowl".
It is best known as the setting for Georges Seurat's pointillist oil-painting, Un Dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte) (1884-6 and 1889) and also for the Stephen Sondheim musical, Sunday in the Park with George.
History
In 1818 Louis-Philippe acquired the château of Neuilly in order to house his family of ten children. He bought the land and created a park which encloses the island, reachable only by boat. He also put a temple on the northern point (later moved).
Between 1850 and 1870 Napoléon III and Baron Haussmann further modified the island, and artists began painting there.
At the end of the 19th century the island became known for its painters, especially the impressionists. In addition to Georges Seurat, artist such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Alfred Sisley, Charles Angrand, and Albert Gleizes painted scenes of the island.
In June 2009, a walk around the island (Île des impressionnistes) detailing the works of the impressionists was established.
Coordinates: 48°53′44″N 2°16′7″E / 48.89556°N 2.26861°E