Pointillism

The style of pointillism is done by placing small distinct points of primary colors in order to make the impression of a variety of secondary colors. It is a technique that utilizes the ability of the eye and mind of the viewer to be able to mix the color spots into a large range of tones. It is a style with few serious practitioners, and is notably seen in the works of Seurat, Signac, and Cross.

The term itself was first coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works of these artists, and is now used without its earlier mocking connotation. It was first systematically applied by French painter Georges Seurat (1859-1891) in his La Grande Jatte (1886). However, there were pieces before this one that featured pointillism.

(above image: Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat in 1886)