Georges Seurat lived a secluded and short life. Seurat neglected to socialize often and worked often in solitude. The only loving Seurat truly encountered was through his mother Ernestine Faivre. Seurat's sketch, The Artist's Mother, recites the tearful tale of his lonely life.

When Georges Seurat was born in 1859 to father Antoine-Christophe he was the youngest of three children and definitely not considered important. Antoine-Christophe, being a lawyer, only visited Seurat and Ernestine once a week destroying any kind of relationship between Seurat and his reclusive father. Ernestine became everything to Seurat in his childhood. When it came time for him to leave his mother behind and attend Paris' art academy at the age of 19, Seurat adopted his fathers isolated personality towards others.

Seurat continued his isolated way of work through his one year service in Frances military during 1879. Upon his return Seurat moved into a small art studio with two other young artists. It was here that Seurat sketched The Artist's Mother. All of Seurat's gloomy sentimentality can be felt in this portrayal of his mother. Just as Seurat missed his mother, you can feel the mother's pain at the absence of her son.

Georges Seurat accomplished many a great feats in his unexpectedly short life, and his mother supported him till the end. One year after The Artist's Mother Seurat moved into another studio that was only about a kilometer from his parents home. Seurat died in his mother's home two days after visiting her. The Artist's Mother carries the weight of a lost son.