pointillism

American  

[pwan-tl-iz-uhm, -tee-iz-, poin-tl-iz-] / ˈpwæn tlˌɪz əm, -tiˌɪz-, ˈpɔɪn tlˌɪz- /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. a theory and technique developed by the neo-impressionists, based on the principle that juxtaposed dots of pure color, as blue and yellow, are optically mixed into the resulting hue, as green, by the viewer.

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pointillism British  

/ -tiːˌɪzəm, ˈpwæntɪˌlɪzəm, ˈpɔɪn- /

noun

1. Also called: divisionism.  the technique of painting elaborated from impressionism, in which dots of unmixed colour are juxtaposed on a white ground so that from a distance they fuse in the viewer's eye into appropriate intermediate tones

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pointillist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pointillism

1900–05; < French pointillisme, equivalent to pointill ( er ) to mark with points + -isme -ism

Explanation

The school of painting known as pointillism was a popular spin-off of Impressionism in the late 1800's. One well-known master of pointillism was Georges Seurat. This school of painters seems to have gotten a head start on the pixel by 100 years! Their technique of painting consists of tiny dots of pure color that, when viewed from a distance, coalesce to give an impression not too far off what actually hits the eye in nature. In French, the diminutive plural of point is pointilles, or tiny dots, and the verb pointiller means "to cover with small dots."

Example Sentences

Autochromes possess the light-dappled depth of Impressionist paintings, the powdery precision of pointillism, the honest blushes of butterfly cheeks, and the palpable textures of gleaming silks and gilded velvets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

The paintings, done in a pointillism style, shimmered with the high-contrast pop of a flash photo or an instant Polaroid.

From Washington Post • Dec. 23, 2022

In “Colors of Summer,” Stream captures the avian residents of our region with pointillism and symbolism, drawing on his Sun’Aq Aleut ancestry.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2021

Fixated, determined, relentless — those are the descriptors for the pointillism of big, roiling, undulating crowd scenes in works like “Wild Thing, I Think I Love You” and “A Foolish Trick.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2018

Vincent is experimenting with different styles: aspects of pointillism, mixed with the more graphic approach of the Japanese paintings he loves.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman