Divisionism Mastery of Color? Effusion of Color! Winter 1

The representatives of Neo-Impressionism permanently liberated paint from the mixing of colors on the palette, as well as from its traditional method of application, just as it had been revived through the atmospheric illusionism of the Impressionists. Beginning in France, the painterly revolution of the new movement--also known as Pointillism or Divisionism--stretched from the banks of the Seine to the snow-covered slopes of the Alps, from Georges Seurat to the Swiss artist Giovanni Giacometti. Unmixed and following the laws of optics, dots, spots and lines of color were placed alongside each other with great precision so that the human eye would ultimately perform the job of blending the colors during the process of viewing. Featuring texts by distinguished international specialists, this catalogue presents a comprehensive overview of European Neo-Impressionism.

This beautiful exhibition catalogue is a scholarly study of the various styles of late-19th- and 20th-century European divisionism. The text is heavy with theory, discussing symbolist divisionism, the pre-futurist tendency, pointillism, neo-Impressionism, chromoluminarism, European luminism, Scapigliatura, and Franco-Belgian and Italian divisionism. The striking new Pierre Arnaud Foundation Art Center (Lens, Switzerland) has instituted the first of many shows to come that aim to demonstrate the quality of Swiss painting. This catalogue indicates that "Swiss painters were striving to create a national art" and that "their work also evolved in the context of the main international movements." The majority of paintings reproduced here are little known, as are many of the painters discussed. Readers also will gain insights into some better-known artists, e.g., Cuno Amiet, discussed as one of the precursors of modern art in Switzerland. Finally, this book is important for its discussions of topics such as anarchy and harmony. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. (M. M. Hamel-Schwulst CHOICE)