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Pointillism

328 artworks, 34 artists
Pointillism (from the French word “point”, French), or divisionism (from “division”, also French) appeared at the end of the 19th century in France. It became a stylistic branch of neo-impressionism. The essence of this art movement is the manner of painting in separate non-isolated brushstrokes of round or square shape. The viewer perceives the image due to the optical effect of color blending the object projection on the retina. For this purpose, the viewer is recommended to stand at a certain distance from the picture. The art of pointillism, or painting by dots, is justly considered technical and recognizable.

Pointillism owes its birth and popularity to the French artist Georges Seurat. The young impressionist experimenter was carried away by the scientific discoveries in the field of optics, the theory, physics and psychology of color, as well as the influence of the color scheme on the emotional state of a person. The result of the research was the creation of a technically new manner of painting, where the movements of the artist’s brush were light, and the momentary touches of a brush to a canvas resembled a butterfly flutter. The Neo-Impressionists Paul SignacHenri Cross and Camille Pissarro became the followers of Seurat.

The pointillist paintings do not contain restrictions or strict preferences in their subject choice. They include landscapes, portraits, and genre scenes. The main goal of the artist is to reflect the dynamics of the objects and light, which is created by applying strokes at a meticulously calculated distance from each other. Therefore, the landscapes of the pointillist artists amaze the viewers with their airiness and volume. In their artworks, the painters used three primary additive colors: red, green and blue, which were applied with small strokes of a regular form, with a rare use of large color spots. Pointillist painting pleases with its plasticity and soft image contours. The painting technique makes it possible to create both bright contrasted images and soft “foggy pictures”. As you contemplate such works, the eyes better perceive the depth of the composition, the amazing movement of light rays, ripples in the water, vibrations of foliage, and a breath of wind.

The most famouspPointillist paintings:
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” 1886 by Georges Seurat, a masterpiece and classic of the style; “Women at the Well” 1892, “The Pine Tree at St. Tropez” 1909 by Paul Signac; “Return from the Baptism” 1917 by Pablo Picasso; “Restaurant Interior”, “Self Portrait” 1887 by Vincent van Gogh.

The most famous pointillist artists:
Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Henri Cross, Lucien Pissarro, Camille Pissarro, Charles Angrand, Maximilien Luce, Theodore van Rysselberghe. The pointillist technique can also be found in the paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Nikolai Mescherin, Giovanni Segantini.
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