Radical Harmony: Helene Kröller-Müller’s Neo-Impressionists

When Georges Seurat first exhibited his iconic Neo-Impressionist masterpiece A Sunday on La Grande Jatte in 1886, the artist was met with a storm of criticism. Reviewer Joris-Karl Huysmans fumed: “Strip his figures of the coloured fleas that cover them, and underneath there is nothing, no thought, no soul, nothing.”

Seurat’s pointillist technique – painting regular dots of pure colour – was so radical that critics believed it marked the death of painting itself. They argued that this scientific method eliminated the expressive individuality of the artist’s brushstroke. Even Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir refused to exhibit alongside him.

Yet history has proved Seurat right. Today, his works are hailed as masterpieces, and his legacy shines in Radical Harmony: Helene Kröller-Müller’s Neo-Impressionists, a captivating new exhibition at London’s National Gallery.

The first National Gallery show devoted to Neo-Impressionism, it features a rare highlight: Seurat’s celebrated Le Chahut (1889–90), on display in the UK for the first time.

Left: Georges Seurat, Le Chahut (1889-1890). Right: Théo van Rysselberghe, Woman Reading (1900).
Both Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands. Collection Kröller-Müller Museum. Photographer: Rik Klein Gotink.

Drawn largely from the outstanding collection of German art patron Helene Kröller-Müller (1869–1939), the exhibition showcases revolutionary works by French, Belgian and Dutch artists active between 1886 and the early 20th century. Among them are Anna Boch (1848–1936), Jan Toorop (1858–1928), Théo van Rysselberghe (1862–1926), Paul Signac (1863–1935) and Seurat himself (1859–1891).

The paintings on view were radical not only in their technique but also in their political philosophy. The Neo-Impressionists rebelled against the mechanisation of the industrial age, seeking to reimagine society by portraying the dignity and struggles of the working class. Their aim was to create art that transcended realism – capturing the very essence of existence through harmony of colour, light and geometry.

Visitors will likely leave Radical Harmony deeply moved, contemplating the truth of Seurat’s enduring belief that “colour is not just pigment on a canvas, but emotions made visible.”

Radical Harmony: Helen Kröller-Müller’s Neo-Impressionists
13 September 2025 – 8 February 2026
The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
More information and tickets, HERE.

Author: James Rampton

Lead image: Georges Lemmen, Factories on the Thames (c. 1892). Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands.
© Collection Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands. Photographer: Rik Klein Gotink.