3. Background Pointillism is a form of painting in which tiny dots of primary-colors are used to generate secondary colors. It is a play off of Impressionism, and is usually categorized as a form of Post-Impressionism. It is very similar to Divisionism, except that where Divisionism is concerned with color theory, Pointillism is more focused on the specific style of brushwork used to apply the paint. The viewer’s eyes merge the equal sized dots to give a wave-like effect so that colors never appear as a concentrated whole as they do in conventional painting. This gives the work a shimmering appearance, particularly effective in illustrating the effects of sunlight and lending an element of vibrancy to the piece. The term "Pointillism" was first used with respect to the work of Georges Seurat, and he is the artist most closely associated with the movement. 3 Nicholas Sharp