pointillism
Art through dots
Pointillism is a painting technique using tiny dots of pure color that blend optically when viewed from a distance.
Developed by French painters in the 1880s, particularly Georges Seurat, it applies color theory systematically—adjacent dots of yellow and blue create the impression of green without physically mixing pigments.
The term extends to any technique built from discrete points: a pointillist approach to data visualization.
Dot-based shading technique
- dotsSmall circular marks
- brushworkPainter's stroke method
- dabsGentle pressing motions
- pigmentColor-imparting material
canvas · texture · precision · detail · gradation · juxtaposition · systematic · methodical
- 19th centuryThe eighteen hundreds
- ParisFrance's chief city
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
Opposite tones on spectrum
- huesGradations of color
- saturationState of complete permeation
- luminanceLight per unit area
- primary colorsUnmixable base pigments
contrast · vibration · chroma · color harmony · brightness · warm colors · cool colors · color wheel
Movement beyond fleeting light
- ImpressionismArt movement emphasizing light
- modernismFavoring contemporary approaches
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- French artCreative output from Paris
Misleading visual perception
- gestaltIntegrated perceptual whole
- afterimageLingering visual impression
- perceptionMental interpretation of stimuli
- luminanceLight per unit area
vibrancy · shimmer · depth · coherence · emergence · visual cortex
Images built from visible squares
- digital imagingCreating pictures via sensors
- halftoneDot-based image reproduction
- LichtensteinBenday dots painter
- mosaicInlaid pictorial arrangement
tessellation · screen printing · CMYK · LED displays · bitmap · dithering
stippling
Dot-based shading technique
pigment · canvas · texture · precision · detail · gradation · juxtaposition · systematic · methodical · layering
Paul Signac
- 19th centuryThe eighteen hundreds
- ParisFrance's chief city
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
complementary colors
Opposite tones on spectrum
- huesGradations of color
- saturationState of complete permeation
- luminanceLight per unit area
primary colors · contrast · vibration · chroma · color harmony · brightness · warm colors · cool colors · color wheel · iridescence
post-impressionism
Movement beyond fleeting light
- ImpressionismArt movement emphasizing light
- modernismFavoring contemporary approaches
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
optical illusion
Misleading visual perception
- gestaltIntegrated perceptual whole
- afterimageLingering visual impression
- perceptionMental interpretation of stimuli
luminance · vibrancy · shimmer · depth · coherence · emergence · visual cortex
pixel art
Images built from visible squares
- digital imagingCreating pictures via sensors
- halftoneDot-based image reproduction
- LichtensteinBenday dots painter
mosaic · tessellation · screen printing · CMYK · LED displays · bitmap · dithering
- art formsdrawing, sculpture, photography, music, dance
- art stylesimpressionism, surrealism, cubism, realism, pop art
- paintingwatercolor, acrylic paint, oils, oil paints, watercolors
- art techniquesdrawing, sketching, shading, blending, cross-hatching
- spotted patternspolka dots, spotted, dotted, dalmatian spots, flecked
- dotted patternsspotted, stippled, flecked, speckled, polka dot
pointillismblending
Combining into uniformity
brushwork · wet-on-wet · continuous tone · impasto · glazing
pointillismAbstract Expressionism
Gestural, nonrepresentational American painting movement
action painting · automatism · Fauvism · expressionism · lyrical abstraction