On February 6, the French Honor Society hung a mural commemorating the 1884 painting Un dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte which translates to A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

French teacher and French Honor Society adviser Madame Dragana Blonder printed a version of the painting and cut it into several squares for an art project where each member could color one of the pieces–a little like a jigsaw puzzle.

French Honor Society secretary Maria Bernal suggested the idea. “We wanted something that represents French culture and art as well as a project everyone could be a part of,” she said.

The honor society met on November 7, 2018 and each member colored a square for the final product. The project was originally started to be a part of National French Week, which takes place annually the first week of November.

“It was fun to put a spin on the part I was coloring so it would fit in differently compared to the others,” said member Justin Filigenzi.

The original composition was created by Georges Seurat and is now located in the Art Institute of Chicago. Seurat pioneered the technique known as Pointillism, which uses tiny brushstrokes of contrasting colors.  The 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism began with Seurat.

After assembling the pieces, Mod-podging them together, and putting on the finishing touches, the beautiful mural was ready to hang.

Blonder said, “It looks a lot better than I expected, and I think it gives a little bit of an artistic look to our hallway.”

The mural is hanging in the C hallway where most of the language classrooms are located. Blonder is planning another project next semester because this one was so successful.