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pointillism
[ pwan-tl-iz-uhm, -tee-iz-, poin-tl-iz- ]
noun
, (sometimes initial capital letter)
- 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
/ ˈpɔɪn-; ˈpwæntɪˌlɪzəm; -tiːˌɪzəm /
noun
- 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
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Derived Forms
- ˈpointillist, nounadjective
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Other Words From
- pointil·list noun adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of pointillism1
1900–05; < French pointillisme, equivalent to pointill ( er ) to mark with points + -isme -ism
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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
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Example Sentences
From him we may trace the modern impressionist movement, and from him modern pointillism.
From Project Gutenberg
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