Pointillism (, )
Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" was coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works of these artists, but is now used without its earlier pejorative connotation.[Ruhrberg, Karl. "Seurat and the Neo-Impressionists". Art of the 20th Century, Vol. 2. Koln: Benedikt Taschen Verlag, 1998. .]
Technique
The technique relies on the ability of the eye and mind of the viewer to blend the color spots into a fuller range of tones. It is related to
Divisionism, a more technical variant of the method. Divisionism is concerned with
color theory, whereas pointillism is more focused on the specific style of brushwork used to apply the paint.
Pointillism is a technique with few serious practitioners today and is notably seen in the works of
Georges Seurat,
Paul Signac, and Cross.
From 1905 to 1907, Robert Delaunay and Jean Metzinger painted in a Divisionist style with large squares or 'cubes' of color: the size and direction of each gave a sense of rhythm to the painting, yet color varied independently of size and placement.[Jean Metzinger, ca. 1907, quoted in Georges Desvallières, La Grande Revue, vol. 124, 1907, as cited in Robert L. Herbert, 1968, Neo-Impressionism, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York] This form of Divisionism was a significant step beyond the preoccupations of Signac and Cross. In 1906, the art critic Louis Chassevent recognized the difference and, as art historian Daniel Robbins pointed out, used the word "cube" which would later be taken up by Louis Vauxcelles to baptize Cubism. Chassevent writes:
- M. Metzinger is a mosaicist like M. Signac but he brings more precision to the cutting of his cubes of color which appear to have been made mechanically ....
[Robert L. Herbert, 1968, Neo-Impressionism, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York][Louis Chassevent: Les Artistes indépendantes, 1906][Louis Chassevent, 22e Salon des Indépendants, 1906, Quelques petits salons, Paris, 1908, p. 32][ Daniel Robbins, 1964, Albert Gleizes 1881 – 1953, A Retrospective Exhibition, Published by The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, in collaboration with Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund]
Practice
The practice of Pointillism is in sharp contrast to the traditional methods of blending pigments on a palette. Pointillism is analogous to the four-color CMYK printing process used by some color printers and large presses that place dots of
cyan,
magenta, yellow, and key (black). Televisions and computer monitors use a similar technique to represent image colors using red, green and blue (RGB) colors.
[Vivien Greene, Divisionism, Neo-Impressionism: Arcadia & Anarchy, Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2024
, ]
If red, blue, and green light (the additive primaries) are mixed, the result is something close to white light (see Prism (optics)). Painting is inherently subtractive, but Pointillist colors often seem brighter than typical mixed subtractive colors. This may be partly because subtractive mixing of the pigments is avoided, and because some of the white canvas may be showing between the applied dots.
The painting technique used for Pointillist color mixing is at the expense of the traditional brushwork used to delineate texture.
The majority of Pointillism is done in oil paint. Anything may be used in its place, but oils are preferred for their thickness and tendency not to run or bleed.
Music
Pointillism also refers to a style of 20th-century music composition. Different musical notes are made in seclusion, rather than in a linear sequence, giving a sound texture similar to the painting version of Pointillism. This type of music is also known as
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, in some aspects, been described as pointillistic
Notable artists
Notable paintings
Gallery
File:Baigneurs a Asnieres.jpg|Georges Seurat, 1884, Bathers at Asnières, oil on canvas, 201 × 301 cm, National Gallery, London
File:Georges Seurat - A Sunday on La Grande Jatte -- 1884 - Google Art Project.jpg|Georges Seurat, 1884–1886, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, oil on canvas, 207.6 x 308 cm, Art Institute of Chicago
File:Rijsselberghe, Voiliers.jpg|Théo van Rysselberghe, 1887, Sailboats and Estuary, oil on canvas, 50.2 x 61 cm, Musée d'Orsay
File:Apple Harvest by Camille Pissarro.jpg|Camille Pissarro, 1888, La Récolte des pommes, oil on canvas, 61 x 74 cm, Dallas Museum of Art
File:1889 Toorop Brug in Londen anagoria.JPG|Jan Toorop, 1889, Bridge in London, Kröller-Müller Museum
File:Young Woman Powdering Herself Georges Seurat.jpg|Georges Seurat, c.1889-90 Young Woman Powdering Herself, Courtauld Gallery
File:Lemmen2.jpg|Georges Lemmen, c.1891-92, The Beach at Heist, Musée d'Orsay Paris
File:Theo Van Rysselberghe portrait-of-irma-sethe-1894.jpg|Théo van Rysselberghe, 1894, Portrait of Irma Sèthe
File:Van Rysselberghe femme et enfant.jpg|Théo van Rysselberghe, 1899, His wife Maria and daughter Elisabeth
File:Paul Signac - L'Hirondelle Steamer on the Seine.JPG|Paul Signac, 1901, L'Hirondelle Steamer on the Seine, oil on canvas, National Gallery in Prague
File:Henri Edmond Cross - Regatta in Venice - Google Art Project.jpg|Henri-Edmond Cross, 1903-04, Regatta in Venice, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.7 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
File:Jean Metzinger, c.1906, Femme au Chapeau (Woman with a Hat), oil on canvas, 44.8 x 36.8 cm, Korban Art Foundation..jpg|Jean Metzinger, c.1906, Femme au Chapeau (Woman with a Hat), oil on canvas, 44.8 x 36.8 cm, Korban Art Foundation
File:Robert Delaunay, 1906, Portrait de Metzinger, oil on canvas, 55 x 43 cm, DSC08255.jpg|Robert Delaunay, 1906, Portrait de Metzinger, oil on canvas, 55 x 43 cm
File:Hippolyte Petitjean - Femmes au bain.jpg|Hippolyte Petitjean, 1919, Femmes au bain, oil on canvas, 61.1 X 46 cm, private collection
File:Paul Signac Femmes au puits 1892détailcouleur.jpg|Paul Signac, Femmes au Puits, 1892, showing a detail with constituent colors. Musée d'Orsay, Paris
File:Henri-Edmond Cross - The Evening Air - Google Art Project.jpg|Henri-Edmond Cross, L'air du soir, c.1893, Musée d'Orsay
See also
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Contemporary Indigenous Australian art, the most well-known style of which is known as "dot painting"
-
Halftone
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Klangfarbenmelodie
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Micromontage, similar technique in music
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Pixel art
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Stipple engraving
External links
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