Pointillism : Introduction, Characteristics, Inventors

In my previous post I shared some works created by me using Stippling technique. And also shared some information regarding Stippling (dot work) technique. Some people also call this technique as Pointillism. But I told you that stippling is distinct from pointillism. Let us know how it is distinct from pointillism. For that we have to learn what pointillism is.

• What is Pointillism?

In fine art the term "pointillism" (from the French word "point" meaning "dot") describes a technique of Neo-Impressionism painting, in which hundreds of small dots or dashes of pure color are applied to the canvas, or other ground in order to create maximum luminosity. That is, instead of mixing color pigments on a palette and then applying the mixture into the painting, the pointillist applies small dots of pure unmixed color directly onto the picture and relies on the eye of the viewer to mix the color optically.

Pointillism also called Divisionism and Chromoluminarism, in painting, the practice of applying small strokes or dots of colors to a surface so that from a distance they visually blend together. 

• What are the characteristics of Pointillism?

Unlike some art movements, Pointillism has nothing to do with the subject matter of the painting. It is a specific way of applying the paint to the canvas. In Pointillism the painting is made up entirely of small dots of pure color. Pointillism used the science of optics to create color from many small dots placed so close to each other that they would blur into am image to the eye. This is the same way computer screens work today. The pixels in the computer screen are just like the dots in a Pointillism painting. 

Pointillism is often considered part of the Post-Impressionist movement. While Impressionists used small dabs of paint as part of their technique, Pointillism took this to the next level using only small dots of pure color to compose an entire painting.

• When was the Pointillism movement?

Pointillism reached its peak in the 1880s and 1890s after the Impressionist movement. Many of the concepts and ideas, however, continued to be used by artists in the future.

• Who invented Pointillism?

The founder of Pointillism was George Seurat (1859-1891), a model student at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. A traditioned, and conventional classical painter, he rejected Impressionism, a style of painting and color based on the subjective responses of the individual artist, in favour of a more scientific method which he developed around 1884 and called Chromoluminarism. Based on the scientific color theory of the French Chemist Michel Eugene Chevreal (law of Simultaneous Color Contrast, 1839) and the American Physicist Ogden Rood (Modern Chromatics, 1879), the method was used to a degree by the Impressionist painters, but only on an ad hoc basis, and it was not developed systematically until Seurat. Seurat's main disciple was the former Impressionist Paul Signac (1863-1935). A coastal Landscape artist, Signac was strongly attracted by the scientific method behind Pointillism and Divisionism and after Seurat's death in 1891,he became the leading exponent of the Neo-Impressionist movement. In addition to oil paintings and watercolor, he also produced a number of Lithographs, etchings and pen-and-ink sketches composed of tiny, laboriously laid out dots. A strong supporter of younger artists within the Post-Impressionism movement, Signac was reportedly the first person to buy a painting from Henri Matisse.

• How does Pointillism relate to Divisionism and Neo-Impressionism?

Strictly speaking Pointillism refers only to the type of work made on the canvas (the dot) or might just as easily call it "dottism". The actual theory of mixing paint-pigments optically rather than on a palette, is known as Divisionism (or Chromoluminarism). To confuse things further, Pointillism was the signature style of the French painting style known as Neo-Impressionism. To put it another way, Neo-Impressionist painters absorbed the color theories of Divisionism and employed Pointillist brushwork, in order to create the most luminous colors.

Here is one work which I have tried using Pointillism style ~

Watercolor on Paper

(Note : I have gathered this information about Pointillism from different sources.) 

Acrylics Painting ~ Light Through Darkness

  "Light Through Darkness"

Acrylics on Canvas

34"inch × 24inch

"MIRACLES START TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU GIVE AS MUCH ENERGY TO YOUR DREAMS AS YOU DO TO YOUR FEARS."

This artwork of mine is an abstract. I generally get inspire by nature and things around me and try to depict the hardships/sorrows and happiness of life through a combination of color, texture and patterns.

I have done this painting to motivate people and to explain that in our life there are phases - dark and bright, sad and happy. The essential nature of being alive and being human is to experience life in its purest form - the win and losses, celebrations and challenges, and the good with the bad.

"LIFE IS IRONIC. IT TAKES SADNESS TO KNOW WHAT HAPPINESS IS, NOISE TO APPRECIATE SILENCE AND ABSENCE TO VALUE PRESENCE."
- DAVID AVOCADO WOLFE

Some of these experiences are not favourable. We might be in pain physically or emotionally - we hurt. Often we feel betrayed by life itself, we feel it is unfair and question why we have to go through these struggles. We surround ourselves with negativity. When we come face to face with a struggle, a low point in life, be it an illness, a relationship breakdown or financial ruin, at the time we are lost in darkness. We feel darkness all around us and no light shinning through. We lose all hope.

But we should not forget that darkness has always a light behind it which will destroy it some time. When every door closes, there is always one door opened for us.

WINSTON CHURCHILL once said- "SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL. FAILURE IS NOT FATAL. THE COURAGE TO CONTINUE IS WHAT COUNTS."

Through darkness comes light, through fear comes love and through pain comes triumph. This is the triumph of the human spirit, it is not in a selected few, it is in every one of us. Your struggles and hardships are your gifts so that you can reach deep down inside of yourself and discover your inner power and the glory of who you are. The common saying "WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER" has a very profound truth in it.

    "LIFE IS A SERIES OF NATURAL AND SPONTANEOUS CHANGES. DON'T RESIST THEM - THAT ONLY CREATES SORROW. LET REALITY BE REALITY. LET THINGS FLOW NATURALLY FORWARD IN WHATEVER WAY THEY LIKE."
- LAO TZU

When you are in the dark place looking for a way out of your hardships, you are faced with two choices: give up or come through it stronger. You can assume the victim role and feel sorry for yourself or you can reach into the essence of who you are and find your inner strength. You need to believe you can do this. You are powerful. So believe yourself, be strong, be fearless and have positivity which will turn into light in the darkness of negativity and will make you stronger. Remember there is always a light behind darkness. Everything you need will come to you at the perfect time. Have hope and faith and destroy the darkness of your soul.

   " TO TRUST IN THE FORCE THAT MOVES THE UNIVERSE IS FAITH. FAITH IS NOT BLIND, IT IS VISIONARY. FAITH IS BELIEVING THAT THE UNIVERSE IS ON OUR SIDE, AND THAT THE UNIVERSE KNOWS WHAT ITS DOING."
- UNKNOWN