pointillism

[ pwan-tl-iz-uhm, -tee-iz-, poin-tl-iz- ]

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.

pointillism

/ -tiːˌɪzəm; ˈpwæntɪˌlɪzəm; ˈpɔɪn- /

noun

1. 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 Also calleddivisionism

Derived Forms

• ˈpointillist, nounadjective

Other Words From

• pointil·list noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pointillism¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pointillism¹

C19: from French, from pointiller to mark with tiny dots, from pointille little point, from Italian puntiglio, from punto point

Example Sentences

From him we may trace the modern impressionist movement, and from him modern pointillism.

From Project Gutenberg