Pointillism

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 Seurat, 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. 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 [...].

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

• Albert Dubois-Pillet
• Alfred William Finch
• Camille Pissarro
• Charles Angrand
• Chuck Close
• Gale D. Jones
• Georges Lemmen
• Georges Seurat
• Henri Delavallée
• Henri-Edmond Cross
• Hippolyte Petitjean
• Jan Toorop
• Jean Metzinger
• John Roy
• Louis Fabien (pseudonym)
• Maximilien Luce
• Paul Signac
• Théo van Rysselberghe
• Vincent van Gogh
• Anna Boch

Notable paintings

• A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat
• Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat
• The Windmills at Overschie by Paul Signac
• Banks of Seine by Georges Seurat
• A Coastal Scene by Théo van Rysselberghe
• Family in the Orchard by Théo van Rysselberghe
• Countryside at Noon by Théo van Rysselberghe
• Afternoon at Pardigon by Henri-Edmond Cross
• Rio San Trovaso, Venice by Henri-Edmond Cross
• The Seine in front of the Trocadero by Henri-Edmond Cross
• The Pine Tree at St. Tropez by Paul Signac
• Opus 217. Against the Enamel of a Background Rhythmic with Beats and Angles, Tones, and Tints, Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon in 1890 by Paul Signac
• The Yellow Sail, Venice by Paul Signac
• Notre Dame Cathedral by Maximilien Luce
• Le Pont De Pierre, Rouen by Charles Angrand
• The Beach at Heist by Georges Lemmen
• Aline Marechal by Georges Lemmen
• Vase of Flowers by Georges Lemmen
• Two Nudes in an Exotic Landscape by Jean Metzinger

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

References

References

1. "pointillism". [[Oxford University Press]].
2. Ruhrberg, Karl. "Seurat and the Neo-Impressionists". ''Art of the 20th Century'', Vol. 2. Koln: Benedikt [[Taschen]] Verlag, 1998. {{ISBN. 3-8228-4089-0.
3. "Pointillism".
4. 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
5. Robert L. Herbert, 1968, ''Neo-Impressionism'', The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York
6. Louis Chassevent: ''Les Artistes indépendantes'', 1906
7. Louis Chassevent, ''22e Salon des Indépendants'', 1906, ''Quelques petits salons'', Paris, 1908, p. 32
8. [https://archive.org/stream/albertgleizes1881robb#page/n3/mode/2up 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]
9. "Nathan, Solon. "Pointillism Materials." Web. 9 Feb 2010".
10. "The Music".