Pointillism:An Optical Illusion of Intricacies

Arising in the late 19th century, the Golden Era of Belle Epoque was characterised by optimism, prosperity and progress. It saw the creation of monuments varying from the symbolic Eiffel Tower to the capital's metro entrances. Architecture, however, was not the only mode of art influenced by the magic touch of La Belle Époque; French literature and art also made tremendous progress, resulting in a cultural phenomenon. Translated into the "beautiful era," this period lasted from 1871 to 1914. Over this period, multiple facets of Parisian culture saw major changes and developments. With the architects working out plans for a new Paris, the paintings were turned into a fine art style.

One of the most prominent artists who bloomed during this age was Georges Seurat. Through his remarkable paintings, he gave birth and left behind a valuable gift to his fellow artists such as Paul Signac and Van Gogh, the art of ‘Pointillism’. Born on December 2, 1859 in Paris, he is the founder of the 19th-century Neo-Impressionist school. Pointillism works on the basis of the way our eyes coordinate with our brains where several coloured dots optically blend into multiple colours that form an optical illusion of an image. It is the output of scientific colour theory.

Le Chahut, one of the many outputs of Georges Seurat’s brilliance, is a conspicuous example of his pointillist technique. It represents the Can-Can dance which as portrayed by Seurat, was originally performed by both genders, displaying the intensive manipulation of the women's silhouettes along with high kicks.

'The Temple of Flora', a Fall Winter 2019-20 collection by the Lebanese designer, Rami Kadi is inspired by the 18th Century print portfolio. The collection is a meticulous exploration of the flower in all its imaginable facets. Striving to liberate the flowers from its typical association with elegance and attractiveness, the collection aims at discovering the possibilities of silliness, rebellion and fearlessness that resides at the root of it.

Anything that is small and is put together to create a module leads to the creation of pointillism. With Rami Kadi using crystals, the collection is a beautiful portrayal of Georges Seurat’s brilliant technique. The collection does justice to Georges Seurat’s theory of how using limited colours can create a huge impact on the viewers, sending them into a world of surrealism and illusion. In the painting, the women dancing can be seen manipulating their silhouettes which are bouncy in nature through the use of can-can underneath the skirts, a material that is also majorly used in Rami Kadi’s couture.

Furthermore, looking at the colour schemes, both the subjects have used bright and contrasting colours, with shades of yellow, red, white and blue being the primary colours along with hints of green and purple giving off a warm tone. Pointillism was developed to try and portray the play of light and how it works. The effect of light and shadow in both the subjects is obtained by the use coloured dots which are juxtaposed side by side, alternating in intensity and concentrations,

The necklines, exposing the collar bones, are seen in both the pieces of collection as well as the calf-length dresses in the painting. A similar type of cloth manipulation can be seen by the folds and drapes that are created in the dress through the high kicks in the painting to the extraordinary pleating and structures created by the extremely skilled craftsmen in some pieces of the collection, both setting off a dramatic look. Georges has displayed a sharp look on the faces through lines like the legs of the dancers, the necks, smirk and moustache along with eyebrows just like the models walking who, through the use of makeup, give out any edgy look.

For Seurat, sorrow, joy and peace should be portrayed by one’s painting. In Le Chahut, that is done by displaying a Parisian café’s happy atmosphere which is emphasises with warm and light colours. Furthermore, the collection brings out multiple possible incarnations of a flower by putting out varied feelings on the stage through the amalgamation of botanical shapes and structures created by the man thus succeeding in showcasing its true meaning. The reality of beauty is perfectly synchronised in this surreal depiction.

While both Georges Seurat and Rami Kadi are pioneers of art in their field, it is a true depiction of ‘great minds think alike’ when it comes to their creations. They utilised the beauty of pointillism to accentuate the worth of their art. The modern element can be seen in Kadi’s designs, but as trends change with shifting times, a comparison shows the distinction of the definition of art, whether as an art enthusiast or by a sustainable design creating designer.

Pointillism as a word has now become synonymous with George Seurat’s name. His understanding of this wonderful form has given birth to numerous works, like Rami Kadi’s crystal imbibing collection. The reason his style attracts us is twofold. First, the painting process of pointillism is extremely laborious, so unloading the main proportion of the manual painting task is mostly desired. Second, though several existing general-purposed algorithms may be able to approximate pointillism with point-like strokes, some delicate features frequently observed in Seurat’s paintings are still not satisfactorily reflected. It is amazing to see how this form has grown into something so wonderful and can be used to even increase the unique projections fashion creates. The world with time has changed, but these creations are a true example that the beauty of nature is exquisite and unique to the human eye. Always attractive, it seems like the definition of a flower has changed over time. Starting from a basic flower painting to designs that use the wonderful human body as a canvas to depict the beauty of nature’s wonders. The birth and growth of pointillism too, just like itself has grown in a way where thousands of tiny structures have used togetherness to convert the beautiful thoughts of the artists into even more beautiful works of art.