Pointillism

Pointillism is a painting technique where artists apply small, separate dots of color in patterns to build up an image. The technique was developed in 1886 by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac as an offshoot of Impressionism. Art critics coined the term "Pointillism" in the late 1880s to mock these artists' work, but the word has since lost that negative meaning. The broader movement that Seurat started with this method is called Neo-impressionism. A related technique, Divisionism, also uses patterns to create images, but with larger, cube-like brushstrokes.

The technique works because the viewer's eye and mind blend the separate color spots into a fuller range of tones. It is connected to Divisionism, which is a more technical approach focused on color theory, while Pointillism emphasizes the specific brushwork style used to apply paint. Today, few serious painters use Pointillism, and it is most famously seen in the works of Seurat, Signac, and Cross. Between 1905 and 1907, Robert Delaunay and Jean Metzinger painted in a Divisionist style using large squares or "cubes" of color; the size and direction of each cube gave a sense of rhythm to the painting, while color varied independently of size and placement. This form of Divisionism moved beyond the concerns of Signac and Cross. In 1906, art critic Louis Chassevent noted this difference and, according to art historian Daniel Robbins, used the word "cube," which Louis Vauxcelles later adopted to name Cubism. Chassevent wrote that Metzinger was a mosaicist like Signac but brought more precision to cutting his cubes of color, which appeared to be made mechanically.

Pointillism contrasts sharply with traditional methods of blending pigments on a palette. It is similar to the four-color CMYK printing process used by some color printers and large presses, which places dots of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Televisions and computer monitors use a comparable technique to display colors using red, green, and blue light. Mixing red, blue, and green light (the additive primaries) produces something close to white light. Painting is inherently subtractive, but Pointillist colors often look brighter than typical mixed subtractive colors. This may be partly because the subtractive mixing of pigments is avoided, and because some white canvas may show between the applied dots. The technique used for Pointillist color mixing comes at the expense of traditional brushwork used to show texture. Most Pointillism is done in oil paint, which is preferred for its thickness and tendency not to run or bleed, though anything may be used in its place.

Pointillism also refers to a style of 20th-century music composition. In this style, different musical notes are placed in isolation rather than in a linear sequence, creating a sound texture similar to the painting version. This type of music is also called punctualism or klangfarbenmelodie. In the 21st century, Australian composer Georges Lentz’s music, influenced by the subtle dot paintings of Kathleen Petyarre and by the starry night sky in the Australian Outback, has also been described as pointillistic in some aspects.

Notable artists associated with Pointillism include Albert Dubois-Pillet, Alfred William Finch, Camille Pissarro, Charles Angrand, Chuck Close, Gale D. Jones, Georges Lemmen, Georges Seurat, Henri Delavallée, Henri-Edmond Cross, Hippolyte Petitjean, Jan Toorop, Jean Metzinger, John Roy, Louis Fabien (pseudonym), Maximilien Luce, Paul Signac, Théo van Rysselberghe, Vincent van Gogh, and Anna Boch.

Notable paintings include *A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte* by Georges Seurat, *Bathers at Asnières* by Georges Seurat, *The Windmills at Overschie* by Paul Signac, *Banks of Seine* by Georges Seurat, *A Coastal Scene* by Théo van Rysselberghe, *Family in the Orchard* by Théo van Rysselberghe, *Countryside at Noon* by Théo van Rysselberghe, *Afternoon at Pardigon* by Henri-Edmond Cross, *Rio San Trovaso, Venice* by Henri-Edmond Cross, *The Seine in front of the Trocadero* by Henri-Edmond Cross, *The Pine Tree at St. Tropez* by Paul Signac, *Opus 217. Against the Enamel of a Background Rhythmic with Beats and Angles, Tones, and Tints, Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon in 1890* by Paul Signac, *The Yellow Sail, Venice* by Paul Signac, *Notre Dame Cathedral* by Maximilien Luce, *Le Pont De Pierre, Rouen* by Charles Angrand, *The Beach at Heist* by Georges Lemmen, *Aline Marechal* by Georges Lemmen, *Vase of Flowers* by Georges Lemmen, and *Two Nudes in an Exotic Landscape* by Jean Metzinger.