This catalogue accompanies the National Gallery’s first‑ever exhibition devoted to Neo‑Impressionism. The movement originated with the creation of the innovative Pointillist technique in 1886 by the French artist Georges Seurat: it involved the application of dots of pure colour that would blend from a distance to produce vibrant, shimmering surfaces.
The publication focuses on an exceptional selection of works from the Kröller‑Müller Museum in the Netherlands by a wide group of artists including Signac, Van Rysselberghe and Van Gogh. The museum was founded by the pioneering collector Helene Kröller‑Müller, (1869-1939) one of the first great women art patrons of the twentieth century and the focus of two essays. Organised thematically, the texts explore the importance of technique to Neo‑Impressionism; the interplay between Neo‑Impressionism, modern life and entertainment; the subjects of interiors and portraiture; and the relationship between the movement and the radical political ideas held by many of the artists.
