The term Pointillism was first used by art critics in 1886 to ridicule works of art by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, but today it is an accepted art-history definition of the form that these artists developed as they branched off from Impressionism. The technique relies on the ability of the eye and mind of the viewer to blend spots of color into a range of tones that bring out the totality of a painting.

This artistic development did not have many followers because of its slow and fastidious method of precision work with small, exacting brush marks. It was, however, embraced at times by artists including the Cubists, Matisse, and contemporary artists such as Chuck Close. Art historian Joseph P. Cassar surveys the development of Pointillism as a technique and artistic movement.

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