pointillism

poin·til·lism  (pwt-zm, pointl-z-)

n.

A postimpressionist school of painting exemplified by Georges Seurat and his followers in late 19th-century France, characterized by the application of paint in small dots and brush strokes.

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[French pointillisme, from pointiller, to paint small dots, stipple, from Old French *pointille, engraved with small dots, from point, point, from Latin pnctum, from neuter past participle of pungere, to prick; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.]

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pointil·list adj. & n.

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pointillism [pwan-till-iz-zum]

Noun

a technique used by some impressionist painters, in which dots of colour are placed side by side so that they merge when seen from a distance [French]

pointillist nadj

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Pointillism

a style of the late 19th century based upon some Impressionist techniques and the application of scientific theories of the process of vision; begun by Seurat, who gave it the name Divisionism, it consists of using dots of unmixed color side by side so that the viewer’s eye may mix them into the appropriate intermediate color. Also called Neo-Impressionism. — Pointillist, n. — Pointillistic, adj.

See also: Art

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	pointillism - a school of painters who used a technique of painting with tiny dots of pure colors that would blend in the viewer's eye; developed by Georges Seurat and his followers late in 19th century France school - a body of creative artists or writers or thinkers linked by a similar style or by similar teachers; "the Venetian school of painting" art movement, artistic movement - a group of artists who agree on general principles
	2.	pointillism - a genre of painting characterized by the application of paint in dots and small strokes; developed by Georges Seurat and his followers in late 19th century France genre - a class of art (or artistic endeavor) having a characteristic form or technique