What's Pointillism Art? - Characteristics

In fine art, the expression"pointillism" (from the French word"stage" significance"dot") describes a technique of Neo-Impressionism painting, in which hundreds of small dots or dashes of pure color are placed on the canvas, or other ground, in order to create maximum luminosity. That is, rather than mixing color pigments and then applying the mixture onto the painting, the Pointillist applies small dots of pure color that is unmixed directly and relies on the eye of the viewer to combine the optically. Viewed at the ideal distance, (supposedly three times the diagonal measurement) the dots of color give a richer and more subtle effect than can be achieved by conventional techniques. Pointillism (actually an offshoot of Divisionism) was the most influential style of Post-Impressionist painting (1880-95) and was practised by Post-Impressionist painters from lots of different schools. Italian Divisionism, headed by Vittore Grubicy De Dragon (1851-1920), was particularly active.

How Can Pointillism Relate to Divisionism and Neo-Impressionism?

Strictly speaking Pointillism refers only to the type of mark made on the canvas (the dot). On might just as easily call it"dottism". The actual theory of blending paint-pigments optically, instead of on a palette, is known as Divisionism (or Chromoluminarism). Pointillism was the French painting style known as Neo-Impressionism's signature style to confuse things further. To put it another way painters consumed the colour theories of Divisionism and employed brushwork, to be able to make the most luminous colours.

Note: in reality, the eye, which sees them as colours not actually combines the dots of pure colour. However, they do appear to oscillate or vibrate, creating a sort of shimmer.

Who Invented Pointillism?

The creator of Pointillism was Georges Seurat (1859-91), a model student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Paris. A traditional, and traditional painter, he rejected Impressionism based on the subjective responses of the individual artist, in favour of a scientific method he developed around 1884 and called Chromoluminarism. Depending on the scientific colour concept of the French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul (Law of Simultaneous Colour Contrast, 1839), and the American physicist Ogden Rood (Modern Chromatics, 1879), the method was used to a degree from the Impressionist painters, but only on an ad hoc basis, and it wasn't developed systematically until Seurat. (Compare Monet's approach, see: Attributes of Impressionist Painting 1870-1910.)

Seurat's key disciple was the prior Impressionist Paul Signac (1863-1935). Signac, A coastal landscape artist was attracted by the method behind Pointillism and Divisionism and he became the leading exponent of the Neo-Impressionist movement. Besides oil paintings and watercolours, he produced a number of lithographs, etchings and pen-and-ink sketches composed of tiny, laboriously laid out dots. A strong supporter of younger artists Signac, within the motion was reportedly the first person.

Who Are The Greatest Pointillist Painters?

Signac and seurat remain the greatest exponents of Pointillism. As well as them, the Impressionist Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was also an active member of the faculty, as was Henri-Edmond Cross (1856-1910), and Maximilien Luce (1858-1941) who portrayed industrial society and working-class scenes. Other artists associated with the idiom include: the Fauvist leader Henri Matisse (1869-1954); Albert Dubois-Pillet (1846-90), a self-taught artist that accommodated Pointillism to landscape scene and naturalist subjects; Charles Agrand (1854-1926), that was more of a lyrical painter; Giuseppe Pelizza da Volpedo (1868-1907), the leading Italian pointillism art Pointillist; and Theo van Rysselberghe (1862-1926) the founder of Les Vingt, a group of innovative Post-Impressionists. Even Van Gogh (1853-90) painted occasionally in a Pointillist style.

Legacy

Neo-Impressionism had a notable influence on the next generation. In particular, its focus on color stimulated the emergence of the Fauvism college - and therefore expressionism - thus playing a significant role in the development of modern art. NOTE: To see how Monet's, Seurat's and Signac's so-called'naturalism' led paradoxically to abstraction, visit: Realism to Impressionism (1830-1900).

Famous Pointillist Paintings

Georges Seurat

Fishing in The Seine (1883) Museum of Modern Art, Troyes

Bathers at Asnieres (1883-4) National Gallery, London

Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp (1885) Tate, London

View of Fort Samson (1885) Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-6, Chicago)

The Models (1888) Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA

Grey Weather, Grande Jatte (1888) Philadelphia Museum of Art

Eiffel Tower (1889) California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco

Paul Signac

The Jetty at Cassis (1889) Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City

The Port of Saint-Tropez (1901) The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

Grand Canal, Venice (1905) Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio

Theo van Rysselberghe

Madame Maus (1890) Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

For additional Dutch luminists, visit: Post-Impressionism in Holland (1880-1920).

Henri-Edmond Cross

Nocturne (1896) Petit Palais, Geneva

Maximilien Luce

The Foundry (1899) Kroller-Muller Museum, The Netherlands

Camille Pissarro

Self-Portrait (1903) Tate, London

Henri Matisse

Luxe, Calme Et Volupte (1904-5) Musee d'Orsay

Neo-Impressionist works hang in lots of the best art museums in America and Europe. See: Art Museums in Europe.