Divisionism - Paul Signac and Other Artists

Paul Signac and Other Artists

Seurat’s theories intrigued many of his contemporaries, as other artists seeking a reaction against Impressionism joined the Neo-Impressionist movement. Paul Signac, in particular, became one of the main proponents of divisionist theory, especially after Seurat’s death in 1891. In fact, Signac’s book, D’Eugène Delacroix au Néo-Impressionnisme, published in 1899, coined the term divisionism and became widely recognized as the manifesto of Neo-Impressionism.

In addition to Signac, other French artists, largely through associations in the Société des Artistes Indépendants, adopted some divisionist techniques, including Camille and Lucien Pissarro, Albert Dubois-Pillet, Charles Angrand, Maximilien Luce, Henri-Edmond Cross and Hippolyte Petitjean. Additionally, through Paul Signac’s advocacy of divisionism, an influence can be seen in some of the works of Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Jean Metzinger, Robert Delaunay and Pablo Picasso.

In 1907 Metzinger and Delaunay were singled out by the critic Louis Vauxcelles as Divisionists who used large, mosaic-like 'cubes' to construct small but highly symbolic compositions. Both artists had develop a new sub-style that had great significance shortly thereafter within the context of their Cubist works. Piet Mondrian, in Holland, developed a similar mosaic-like Divisionist technique circa 1909. The Futurists later (1909 - 1916) would adapt the style, in part influenced by Gino Severini's Parisian experience (from 1907), into their dynamic paintings and sculpture.

In Italy, artists of the futurist movement who also read Signac’s book, took up divisionist techniques as part of a separate Italian branch of Divisionism. This movement either characterized or influenced the work of many Italian artists, including Vittore Grubicy de Dragon, Angelo Morbelli, Giovanni Segantini, Emilio Longoni, Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, Gaetano Previati, Plinio Nomellini, Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla and Carlo Carrà.