pointillism information

Art History and Artists
ointillism
History >> Art History
General Overview
Pointillism is often considered part of the Post-impressionist movement. It was primarily
invented by painters George Seurat and Paul Signac. 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 I 880s and 1 890s after the Impressionist movement.
Many of the concepts and ideas, however, continued to be used by artists in the future.
What are the characteristics of Pointillism?
Unlike some art movements, Pointillism has nothing to do with the subject mailer 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. See the example below.
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See the dots that make up the man from Seurat’s painting The Circus
Pointillism used the science of optics to create colors from many small dots placed so
close to each other that they would blur into an 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 Pointillist painting.
Examples of Pointillism
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jane (Georges Seurat)
This painting is by far the most famous of the Pointillism paintings. It was George
Seurat’s masterpiece. It is over 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Every bit of the painting is
done with tiny little dots of pure color. Seurat worked on it for around two years. You can
see it today at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte
(Click image to see larger version)
Sunday (Paul Signac)
Paul Signac studied Pointillism with George Seurat. In the painting Sunday you can see
his technique. The colors are very bright and the lines quite sharp when viewed from a
distance. The painting is of a typical Parisian husband and wife spending Sunday
afternoon together in their home.
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Sunday by Paul Signac
(Click image to see larger version)
Morning, Interior(Maximilien Luce)
Luce used Pointillism when painting scenes of people at work. This painting shows a
man getting ready for work in the morning. The colors are vibrant and you can see the
early morning sunlight entering the room through the windows.
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Morning, Interior by Maximilien Luce
(Click image to see larger version)
Famous Pointillism Artists
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Charles Angrand Angrand experimented with Pointillism. In some works he
used fine, small dots of paint. In other works he used larger dabs of paint to get a
rougher effect.
Maximilien Luce A French Neo-impressionists, Luce used Pointillism in many of
his works. Perhaps his most famous Pointillism paintings were a series of
paintings of Notre Dame.
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Theo Van Rysselberghe Van Rysselberghe painted several paintings using the
Pointillism technique. His most famous is probably a portrait of his wife and
daughter. Later in his career he would move back to broader brush strokes.
Georges Seurat Seurat was the founder of Pointillism. He studied the science of
colors and optics to invent this new technique.
Paul Signac Signac was the other founding father of Pointillism. When Seurat
died young, Signac continued to work with Pointillism and left a large legacy of
artwork using the style.
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Interesting Facts about Pointillism
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Seurat called the style of painting Divisionism when he invented it, but the name
was changed over time.
The smaller the dots, the clearer the painting and the sharper the lines, just like
with the screen resolution on a computer monitor.
In many ways Pointillism was as much a science as an art.
Vincent Van Gogh experimented with the Pointillism technique. It is evident in his
1887 self portrait.
The style often used dots of complementary colors to make their subjects more
vibrant. Complementary colors are colors of the opposite hue, for example red
and green or blue and orange.
Georges Seura
Biography
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Art History
Occupation: Artist, Painter
Born: December 2, 1859 in Paris, France
Died: March 29, 1891 (age 31) in Paris, France
Famous works: Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jafte, Bathers at
Asnières, The Circus
StylelPeriod: Pointillism Neoimpressionist
Biography:
Where did Georges Seurat grow up?
Georges Seurat grew up in Paris, France. His parents were wealthy allowing him to
focus on his art. He was a quiet and intelligent child who kept to himself. Georges
attended the School of Fine Arts in Paris starting in 1878. He also had to serve a year in
the military. Upon his return to Paris he continued to refine his art skills. He spent the
next two years drawing in black and white.
Bathers at Asnieres
With the help of his parents, Georges set up his own art studio not far from their house.
Because his parents supported him, George was able to paint and explore any areas of
art he chose. Most of the poor artists at the time had to sell their paintings to survive.
Georges first major painting was Bathers at Asnieres. It was a large painting of people
relaxing near the water at Asnieres. He was proud of the painting and submitted it to the
official French art exhibition, the Salon. The Salon, however, rejected his work. He
joined the Society of Independent Artists and presented his art at their exhibition.
Bathers at Asnieres
(Click image to see larger version)
Pointillism
Seurat began to explore the science of optics and color. He found that, rather than
mixing the colors of paint on a palette, he could place tiny dots of different colors next to
each other on the canvas and the eye would mix the colors. He called this way of
painting Divisionism. Today we call it Pointillism. Seurat felt that this new way of
painting would make the colors appear more brilliant to the viewer.
Paul Signac
Paul Signac was a good friend of Seurats. He began to paint using the same method of
Pointillism. Together they pioneered a new way of painting and a new style of art.
Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte
In 1884 Seurat began to work on his masterpiece. He would use pointillism to paint a
huge painting called Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. It would be 6
feet 10 inches tall by 10 feet 1 inches wide, but would be painted entirely with small dots
of pure color. The painting was so complex that it took him nearly two years of non-stop
work to finish. Each morning he would go to the scene and make sketches. Then in the
afternoon he would return to his studio to paint until late at night. He kept the painting a
secret, not wanting anyone to know what he was doing.
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4Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte
(Click image to see larger version)
When Seurat finally exhibited the painting in 1886, people were amazed. Some thought
this new way of painting was the wave of the future in art. Others criticized it. Either
way, Seurat was now considered one of the leading artists in Paris.
Continued Work
Seurat continued to paint using the pointillism style. He also experimented with lines. He
felt that different types of lines could express different types of emotions. He also grew
to be friends with other Post-impressionist artists of the time including Vincent van
Gogh and Edoar Degas.
Early Death
When Georges was just 31 years old he became very sick and died. He likely died from
meningitis.
Legacy
Seurat gave the world of art new ideas and concepts in color and how the eye works
together with color.
Interesting Facts about Georges Seurat
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He had a wife and child that he kept secret from his mother. His son died at the
same time he did of the same disease.
• He must have had a great amount of patience to paint such large complex
paintings using only small dots of color.
• His paintings worked a lot like computer monitors work today. His dots were like
the pixels on a computer screen.
• A lot of what we know about Seurat today comes from the diary of Paul Signac
who liked to write.
• His final painting was The Circus.
More examples of Georges Seurat’s Art:
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Circus
Eiffel Tower
Gray Weather