Vincent Van Gogh is usually included among the leaders of pointillism.
Pointillism is the name given to a painting movement that developed in the 19th century . His main characteristic is the use of points and interrupted strokes to create his works.
The pointillists, therefore, did not resort to brushstrokes when creating their paintings, but instead applied dots of pure tones on the surfaces. This allowed them to develop different color games, since it is the eye of the observer that creates the combination.
Characteristics of pointillism
That is, in this sense it is important to establish that in the works made by pointillists the colors are pure, they are never mixed. What's more, it is the eyes of those who see them that make the viewer perceive them as united.
The analysis of optics , calculations, the physical link between different colors and order were part of the creative process of the followers of pointillism. By using dots of different colors, pointillists could promote a feeling of depth in their works.
Pointillism has also been called neo-impressionism and post-impressionism, although some art experts establish differences between these concepts.
Some exponents
To all of the above we must add that, according to the studies carried out on this subject, France was the country that became the center of the greatest production of works undertaken using pointillism. And it was in those lands where some of the most significant figures of this current or artistic movement were able to develop their work, such as Paul Signac or George Seurat, among others. Two authors who are considered the best representatives it has had.
Seurat, in particular, has received the “title” of the father of pointillism, he was the one who started it. The fruit of his work are some well-known and praised works such as “Bath in Asniéres” (1884) or “A Summer Sunday in La Grande Jatte” (1886).
Paul Signac, on the other hand, is considered to have been a fundamental figure within that artistic movement because he managed to provide it with a series of novelties or singularities compared to, for example, the previous painter. Thus, in his case, he opted to provide greater dynamism to the works by giving greater body and size to the dots. Among his best-known paintings are “The Port of Saint Tropez” (1907), “The Red Buoy” (1895) and “The Port of Marseille” (1907).
Among the painters who have been associated with this movement, in addition to those already mentioned, are Vincent Van Gogh , Camille Pissarro , Henri Delavallée , Vlaho Bukovac ... It should be noted that the studies carried out by the theorists of pointillism even influenced musicians, who began to investigate how the ear is responsible for decoding isolated sounds to create a melody, just as the eye takes colored dots and combines them.
Other names for pointillism
Pointillism, which is considered a derivation of Impressionism , is also often mentioned as Post-Impressionism , Neo-Impressionism or Divisionism .
Experts, however, draw certain differences between each concept. Divisionism, for example, had political demands along with its aesthetic stance, while pointillism was limited to worrying only about the technical.