Pointillism

DEFINITION

A branch of French Impressionism in which the principle of optical mixture or broken color was carried to the extreme of applying color in tiny dots or small, isolated strokes. Forms are visible in a pointillist painting only from a distance, when the viewer???s eye blends the colors to create visual masses and outlines. The inventor and chief exponent of pointillism was George Seurat (1859-1891); the other leading figure was Paul Signac (1863-1935). (Also see Pointillism)<br><br>A method of painting developed in France in the 1880s in which tiny dots of color are applied to the canvas. When viewed from a distance, the points of color appear to blend together to make other colors and to form shapes and outlines. Georges Seurat (French, 1859-1891) was its leading exponent. His most famous painting is see thumbnail to rightA Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Un dimanche apr?s-midi ? l&#39;Ile de la Grande Jatte), 1884-1886, oil on canvas, 81 x 120 inches, Art Institute of Chicago. Occasionally used synonyms for pointillism have been "divisionism" and "confetti-ism." See other examples at Neo-Impressionism.Also see brindled, optical mixing, pattern, piebald, Segantini stitch, stipple, and variegated.