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Sunday in the Park

There's a small park and a grove of trees sloping gently to the water on a narrow island in the Seine just northwest of Paris. Unremarkable perhaps, except that the island is known as Île de la Jatte and the peaceful spot is the setting for Georges Seurat's magnificent painting, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte." It wasn't only Seurat who was drawn to the serene île: Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Alfred Sisley painted there as well. Of course, the place has changed a lot in the last 130 years; it now has about 4,000 inhabitants and looks a lot like any small French village. But a few years ago a walk, called "the circuit of the impressionists," was established around the island so art lovers can appreciate its unique and special history.