Point to Point
Neo-Impressionism began in Paris in the late 1880s. Propounded by French painter Georges Seurat, painters in the movement included Paul Signac and Henry-Edmond Cross.
The movement was characterised by the pointillist visual production and rich colour assessment. The creations were meticulous, detailed, intricate and time consuming — dot by dot, point to point. The paintings operated on two grounds — pointillism and divisionism.
Pointillism is a technique in which dots alone construct image, perspective, tone, scale and dimension. Divisionism is a method where pure colours are painted next to next on the surface (in this case dot by dot, side by side) in such a way that the colours get optically blended when the viewer sees it. Example: Red and Yellow dots placed next to eachother, perceived as orange, Blue and Yellow placed next to eachother, perceived as green etc.
Inspired by the notions of the line and the dot displaying landscapes and life, this movement was a revelation of patience and skill.
Georges Seurat’s masterpiece ‘Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte ‘ (featured above) done using pointillism and divisionism took Seurat two long years to complete. The sketching process, planning of the colours, tonal value, perspective and scale in this landscape were incredibly time consuming.
Undiluted focus on every dot created an unparalleled energy in this creation. The optical blending of how colours shape one’s perception is profound.
Originally posted on my blog: https://sparshabyradhika.com/blog on 31st August, 2020.
