Like pixels on the walls. The Pointillism by the Masters of Art for ArtLab by Ambientha

Living in “dots”. Maybe we have become accustomed to this new condition, thinking of the screens of televisions, computers, smartphones on which we spend the time of our day, now no longer just working. For reasons of visualization of the object, the smaller these “points” are, the better it is for the quality of the observed figures. Today we are aware that what we look at on displays are actually groups of tiny pixels, the minimum unit of the surface of a digital image, even if we often don’t realize it thanks to increasingly advanced technologies.

Now let’s imagine that we are at the end of the 19th century in France, where this whole world of pixels was just a distant dream, and to observe for the first time works of art formed by myriads of small brush strokes on the canvas, which from afar create a unique and magical vision. Welcome Pointillisme and welcome Ambientha professionals who, thanks to author wallpapers, bring this visionary world back to the home, office, restaurant, hotel… where we need to follow the dots to find an even more carefree way. 

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Thanks to the high-resolution photographs of the Bridgeman Images catalogue, ArtLab by Ambientha brings in all its professionals, from art historians, to designers, to wallpaper experts, and their ad hoc advice, to create the perfect suggestions for our walls, today with a pointillist appearance.

We connect all the points of the wall with the Pointillisme

We are in France and the year is 1885 when the Parisian artist Georges-Pierre Seurat founded the current of Pointillisme. Impressionism has already left its heavy imprint, but the painter is more interested in a studied and researched art, almost scientific and certainly not improvised. Light and colour become the basis of his research, where the painted figures are recreated by the eye of the observer who juxtaposes the colours of the canvas as on a mosaic. 

Thousands of small coloured dots that finally form a single image through a careful study of the painting technique and the combination of complementary colours (yellow/purple, red/green, blue/orange). Theories not far from the current ones, more and more advanced and innovative, that Ambientha technicians know how to use at best to create the perfect balance between nuances for a refined colour rendering. Why not, with the fresh and dreamy nuances of this spring season we are experiencing.

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Along with George Seurat (1859-1891), another leading exponent of this technique is certainly the artist Paul Signac (1863-1935). Moments of everyday life and of celebration, the tranquility of harmonious and carefree landscapes are among the themes most addressed by these artists: an underlying lightness that lends itself to the walls of places of relaxation such as restaurants, bars and hotels, or in a contemporary living room that does not give up colour on the walls between furniture with a clear and rigorous design.

The historical period we are dealing with today on ArtLab does not differ from that of Vincent van Gogh, which we had already discussed in a blog post dedicated here and on which Ambientha experts have perfected the works of the great master for the walls of the home and office. It is certain that van Gogh’s personal and emotional vision of Pointillisme, through his technique which can in part be assimilated to it, refers to a deeper, more intimate and often disconsolate introspection. A completely different concept was that of Seurat, Signac and the masters of French Pointillism.

In Italy: the Divisionism

Unlike its French creators, in Italy this technique takes a new turn. Less frivolous and more committed, Italian artists embrace the rules of pointillism but adapt them to social and political themes. With broader brushstrokes than the French mini-dots, the artists of the Bel Paese turn this artistic practice to contemporary and debated issues in their historical time: we are talking about Divisionism. For these reasons and for the charge of meaning that these works cover, they are to be understood on the walls of sharing places that wish to convey a clear and timely message, as the designers and furniture experts of ArtLab will best be able to advise, for a truly personalised advice.

The protagonist painting of Italian Divisionism is the famous Quarto Stato by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, a painting from 1901 that claims the rights of workers of the late nineteenth century. A work present in the common imagination of all of us, a symbol of dignity and participation for the achievement of an important common purpose. It is certainly an emblematic painting with a strong impact, capable of powerfully spreading its message, but also of making itself immediately recognizable on the walls of shops, clubs and meeting places. The subtle pointillist brushstrokes, juxtaposed one to the other, recreate the unitary energy of the canvas, also conveying the meaning of cohesion that the artist wanted to disseminate.

The masterpiece is today a true icon of the history of art, and certainly one of the best known and most appreciated paintings. But after its realization, the painting did not have the desired success, so much so that its creator, Pellizza da Volpedo, decided not to venture more into social issues and to devote himself to the quieter landscape painting. Among the Italian exponents also Giovanni Segantini (1858 – 1899) who lives Pointillism as a chance to tell the working life of the time, or in this case the moment of short and well-deserved rest.

Pointillisme like a contemporary mosaic

The referral is quick and simple. The set of small dots of color easily connect to the whole school of mosaic, from the centuries of its birth, to the mosaic walls of Gustav Klimt up to the more contemporary one. It is interesting today the use of the mosaic technique, in a certain sense we can also say pointillistic, of contemporary artists who through the most disparate material, from glass paste to “Lego”, from terracotta to safety pins, recreate the mantle of the figures they want to achieve. Like a painting of Pointillisme where it is the whole of the parts that form the finished work. Even the mosaic, when viewed from a distance, can appear as a single painted image thanks to the skilful use of color units and the arrangement of the tiles.

Research into contemporary mosaic continues in the city of Ravenna, the capital of Byzantine mosaic. The Mosaic Biennial, which must now better deal with the constraints caused by the COVID-19 crisis, aims to attract mosaic artists from all over the world to exhibit their most significant works in its key places.

Between mosaic and Pointillism, between pixels and pointillism, we create Ambientha walls with a strong impact capable of revolutionizing environments with the light-heartedness of colours and the scenic presence of forms.