Pointillism | Impressionism, Divisionism, Neo-Impressionism | Britannica (original) (raw)

Georges Seurat: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884

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Also known as: chromo-luminarism

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Quick Facts

Also called:

divisionism and chromo-luminarism

pointillism, in painting, the practice of applying small strokes or dots of color to a surface so that from a distance they visually blend together. The technique is associated with its inventor, Georges Seurat, in such works as A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884 (1884/86) and Bathers at Asnières (1884). He and his student, Paul Signac, both espoused Neo-Impressionism, a movement that flourished from the late 1880s to the first decade of the 20th century.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Alicja Zelazko.