Pointillism Pointillism Pointillism () is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" was coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works of these artists, and is now used without its earlier mocking connotation. The movement Seurat began with this technique is known as Neo-impressionism. The Divisionists, too, used a similar technique of patterns to form images, though with larger cube-like brushstrokes. The technique relies on the ability of the
The Big Picture (painting) "The Big Picture"—took its toll on the artist. Nicknamed "Bulldog", he drew a picture of a bulldog escaping a collar and chain in a letter he wrote informing that the picture was near completion. He described the painting once as his "Frankenstein of 17 feet." Roberts's eyesight was weakened by the strain in representing so many likenesses accurately and the importance that he placed on the task sapped his strength. The biographer Humphrey McQueen claims the picture gave Roberts "an inflated idea of [his] own importance". However, Roberts never established himself as an artist in England and slipped into depression.