POINTILLISM: ORIGIN, HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, TECHNIQUES, AUTHORS - ART - 2025

The Pointillism is a painting technique known consisting of forming images through patterns of tiny dots of different colors. It was born from the movement known as Neo-Impressionism, which occurred from 1880 to 1910. Neo-Impressionism was promoted by the post-Impressionist artist Georges Seurat and his student Paul Signac.

The term "pointillism" began to be used in a pejorative way to ridicule this style of works, however, its meaning changed over time. The technique consists mainly of using small dots from primary colors whose patterns allow to see secondary colors.

The Bath of Asnieres, 1884 by Georges Seurat. Georges seurat

Neo-Impressionism is inspired by the sciences of optics and color to create a new painting technique. In pointillism, the understanding of a painting goes hand in hand with the capacity or optical condition of the viewer to observe the mixture of color that the distribution of colored dots on the canvas can generate.

It is said that pointillism can generate a higher level of luminosity and shine within a work. On the other hand, it is also claimed that dots can create a richer color effect than mixing pigment colors in a palette.

Pointillism can also be associated with cromoluminarismo or divisionismo, style from which it comes. Divisionism starts from the fundamental principle of painting separate colors in the form of dots or patches in such a way that they interact at an optical level, that is, they can be mixed in the view of the viewer. It is from this point that the principles of neo-impressionism are based to give rise to pointillism.

One of the main theories used by Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism was the studies of color by the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul in his work On the Law of Simultaneous Color Contrast, published in 1839.

Many of the paintings of Neo-Impressionism, including those with the pointillist technique, were aimed at generating links between emotional states and the shapes and colors that were presented on the canvases. Much of the works dealt with modernity, industrialization, and urban life.

Origin and history

Pointillism has its origin from Neo-Impressionism, an artistic movement originated in France with the influence of Impressionism and inspired by the technique of Divisionism. Neo-Impressionism was promoted by the Frenchman Georges Seurat (1859-1891), whose works are characterized by being figures and landscapes.

Seurat, through the copying of paintings and drawings by artists such as Ingres, Holbein and Delacroix, as well as the study of color theories such as those of Michel Eugène Chevreul, began to be interested in drawing and the analysis of the components of color. These explorations led him to encounter pointillism, which was originally named by Seurat as "chromoluminarism".

After the contribution of Seurat and his new scientific way of implementing color, his student and follower, Paul Signac (1863-1935), continued the path traced by his teacher, becoming one of the greatest exponents of Neo-Impressionism and who also helped the development pointillism.

Neo-Impressionism was recognized for carrying with it the influence of anarchist beliefs. Many of the performances feature social themes, including paintings about the working class and peasants.

The scientific study of color within Neo-Impressionism sought to go against the conventions of art for the time. The term "pointillism" was born from the opinion of critics at the end of the 19th century.

Characteristics of pointillism

- Pointillism refers to the specific use of small, separate dots of color on the canvas. This is how it differs from divisionism, which is broader and refers to any division or artistic separation of color from small brush strokes.

- It is based on scientific theories of color. Pointillism uses primary colors and does not mix pigments on a palette. However, the works can also be made in black and white.

- Uses patterns in which the distribution of primary colors can allow the appearance of secondary colors in the view of the viewer.

- It is said that works of art made with the pointillism technique reach a level of luminosity and brightness greater than that of other techniques.

- It has its origin within Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, from the 19th and 20th centuries.

- Its theme revolved around peasant life, the working class and industrialization.

- It is a style that is complemented by the interaction between the viewer and the work. That is, the pointillist work complements itself and generates its effect only if the viewer is able to perceive the optical effect, either by distance or by visual capabilities.

Technique

Pointillism uses scientific theories of color to create chromatic effects when it comes to appreciating some work of art of this style. It uses the way in which the human eye works in connection with the brain. This is how what the viewer manages to perceive is not the thousands of dots separated one by one, but the mixture of colors that originates from the dot patterns on the canvas.

The only use of primary colors is customary to make a pointillist work of art. Within this style it is only possible to use the point to create the representations. Most of the works made with pointillism are made from oil paint.

However, pointillism is not limited to the use of a single material, since to make a painting or drawing using the technique, any other instrument capable of making points and generating the desired effect can be used.

Within this movement it is possible to create shadows, depth and gradients. Also, there may be variations in the size of the points to achieve certain effects.

Materials and tools used

The technique of this art does not require a specific instrument or material to be used, however, there are specific parameters such as the background and the forms.

For pointillism you need an instrument that allows you to make points of a constant size. Although the size of the point can vary, it is necessary that the instrument allows to reproduce many times the same size of the point.

On the other hand, the material on which the work is made must be unicolor. The most used colors are white, gray or off-white. This background color allows you to play with the primary colors appropriately. Pencils, markers, colors, brushes and more can be used to make paintings with the technique.

Authors and works

Georges Seurat (1859-1891)

Originally from Paris, Georges Seurat is known as the founder of Neo-Impressionism. Throughout his life he devoted himself to drawing and painting and worked from 1878 to 1880 at the School of Fine Arts.

After the scientific studies of color theory and the analysis of works such as Delacroix's, he began to explore divisionism through drawing, using conté crayon. He analyzed the effects that color components could generate by placing them side by side in the form of small dots. From here begins to emerge the new technique of pointillism, which would be one of the great areas of Neo-Impressionism.

During the last years of his life, he devoted a great deal of time to trips to the coasts, from which he was inspired to depict scenes from places near the sea and even in winter times in his paintings. His last exhibition was held in 1886. Among his most popular works are:

-Sunday afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886

-The Bath of Asnieres, 1884

-Le Chahut, 1889-1890

-Jeune femme se poudrant, 1888-1890

-Parade de Cirque, 1889

-The circus, 1891

Paul Signac (1863-1935)

He was born in Paris on November 11, 1863. His first artistic interests were focused on architecture, however, at the age of 18 he decided to dedicate himself to the study of painting. From the beginning and through his travels along the coasts of Europe, he began to paint landscapes. In 1884 he met Claude Monet and Georges Seurat.

Being aware of the systematic work and the color theory implemented by Seurat, Signac became his main follower. This is how he puts aside the brushstroke techniques of impressionism and begins to experiment with what would later be known as pointillism. In many of Signac's pieces the coasts of France are represented.

Together with other artists such as Albert Dubois-Pillet, Odilon Redon and Georges Seurat himself, he founded the Society of Independent Artists, with the aim that artists could present their work publicly without depending on the approval of art critics and juries.. The main motto of this association was "No jury or awards."

Among his most outstanding works are:

-Place des Lices, 1893

- Grand Canal, Venice. 1905.

-Notre-Dame de la Garde (La Bonne-Mère), Marseilles. 1905-1906

-The Port of Rotterdam, 1907.

-Antibes le soir, 1914

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)

At the beginning of his artistic life he devoted himself to Impressionism and from 1880 began to take an interest in Neo-Impressionism by working together with George Seurat. Through pointillism he began to explore everyday themes, with representations of scenes of people at work or at home based on reality.

From 1885 he focused on the practice of pointillism and in 1886 he was part of an exhibition with Seurat, Signac and others. Many analysts were struck by the Danish artist's ability to evolve his own art, since his pointillist paintings were very different from those he had created in his Impressionist days. Some of Pissarro's most recognized impressionist works are:

-Women gathering grass, 1883

-Landscape of Èragny, 1886

-La Récolte des Foins, Éragny, 1887

-Young peasant woman at her dressing table, 1888

-Sunset and Fog, Eragny, 1891

Albert Dubois-Pillet (1846-1890)

He was a military officer and a self-taught painter whose works were greatly influenced by Neo-Impressionism. Despite not possessing a workshop knowledge, several of his works were accepted in exhibitions from 1877.

He was part of the founding of the Society of Independent Artists in 1884. His creations were always exhibited in conjunction with other shows by similar artists. It was only in 1888 that he held a single solo exhibition.

The Banks of the Marne at Dawn, 1888 by Albert Dubois-Pillet

Albert Dubois-Pillet

Dubois-Pillet was one of the first artists to adopt the style of Pointillism in its entirety. During his work with Seurat he used ink for pointillist drawings. His own apartment served as the studio and unofficial headquarters of the Neo-Impressionist group during the early years of the movement.

Despite being banned from art exhibitions by the army in 1886, he continued actively in painting until his death in 1890. In honor of his memory, Paul Signac held an exhibition of 64 paintings by Dubois Pillet. Among his outstanding works are:

-Winter Landscape, 1885

-Still life with fish, 1885

-The Banks of the Seine at Neuilly, 1886

-The towers, 1887

-The banks of the Marne at dawn, 1888

Henri-Edmond Cross (1856-1910)

Cross was a recognized practitioner of neo-impressionism of French nationality. He stood out for being one of the most relevant characters for the second phase of the movement. His real name was Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, but to differentiate himself from the renowned romantic painter Eugène Delacroix, he changed his name to Henri Cross.

He adopted pointillism from the work of his friend Georges Seurat, however, the strict parameters of this style led him to develop a new concept together with Paul Signac, with variations in the color and its forms of applying it. This technique would later be known as Fauvism. Among the most outstanding pointillist works of Cross are:

-Antibes, Morning, 1895

-Rio San Trovaso, Venice, 1904

-La Plage de Saint-Clair, 1907

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