Neo-impressionism

Neo-impressionism was coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat’s greatest masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, marked the beginning of this movement when it first made its appearance at an exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants in Paris.^[1] Around this time, the peak of France’s modern era emerged and many painters were in search of new methods. Followers of neo-impressionism, in particular, were drawn to modern urban scenes as well as landscapes and seashores. Science-based interpretation of lines and colors influenced neo-impressionists’ characterization of their owncontemporary art.^[2] Pointillism technique is often mentioned, because it was the dominant technique in the beginning.

What Are the Key Characteristic of Neo-Impressionism?

• Tiny dots of local color.
• Clean, clear contours around the forms.
• Luminescent surfaces.
• A stylized deliberateness that emphasizes a decorative design.
• An artificial lifelessness in the figures and landscapes.
• Painted in the studio, instead of outdoors like the Impressionists.
• Carefully ordered and not spontaneous in its technique and intention.
• Subjects about contemporary life and landscapes.

Best Known Artists:

• Georges Seurat ;  Georges Pierre Seurat (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ pjɛʁ søʁa]; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and draftsman. He is noted for his innovative use of drawing media and for devising a technique of painting known as pointillism. His large-scale work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–1886), Seurat's most famous painting, altered the direction of modern art by initiating Neo-impressionism, and is one of the icons of 19th century painting.^[1]
• Paul Signac
• Camille Pissarro
• Henry Edmond Cross
• George Lemmen
• Théo van Rysselberghe
• Jan Toorop
• Maximilen Luce
• Albert Dubois-Pillet

References; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-impressionism

                   http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/Neo-Impressionism-Art-History-101-Basics.htm