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
A picture is worth a thousand words "bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn") is sometimes introduced as an equivalent, as Watts's "One showing is worth a hundred sayings". This was published as early as 1966 discussing persuasion and selling in a book on engineering design. In March 1911, in the Syracuse Advertising Men's Club, Arthur Brisbane wrote: "Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words." Despite this modern origin of the popular phrase, the sentiment has been expressed by earlier writers. For example, the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev wrote (in "Fathers and Sons" in 1861), "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over