In its final version, premiered at an exhibition in 1886, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte gained even more noteriety than any of Seurat's prior works.

As the people are going about their leisure, their place amidst the scenery is very carefully staged by the artist. The woman with an orange umbrella, strolling with a girl in a white dress, commands the very center of the composition, as if attempting to draw the main attention to them. And yet, the overall composition has a strong sense of perspective, from the shore of the Seine at the viewer's left foreground, to the opposing distance meeting just at the eyes of the distinguished couple strolling to the right.

Some critics found the treatment of human figures to be very formal and expressionless, with only the foreground characters showing any discernable facial features. But others recognized the revolution in the use of color to produce light and shade, and the iconic stance of human figures only drew more attention to the brilliance of these colors in subtle juxtposition.

With this particular work, the technique identified with Seurat was established.