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 called: divisionism
Derived forms
pointillist (ˈpointillist)
noun, adjective
pointilliste (ˈpointiˌlliste)
adjective
Word origin
C19: from French, from pointiller to mark with tiny dots, from pointille little point, from Italian puntiglio, from puntopoint
Examples of 'pointillisme' in a sentence
pointillisme
The broader canvas of summits can be a relief after the pointillisme of home affairs.