How did Camille Pissarro use pointillism in his Neo-Impressionist paintings?
Camille Pissarro adopted the pointillist approach after meeting Georges Seurat and Paul Signac in 1885, becoming a convert to the Neo-Impressionist movement.1
In accordance with this style, Pissarro applied paint to his canvases in precise dots of contrasting pigments. Rather than mixing colors on a palette, he placed these dots side by side so that the viewer's retina would optically blend them into a single, harmonious hue. This methodical, scientific technique was intended to create more luminescent color displays and provide his work with a greater sense of structure and clarity compared to the spontaneous, free brushwork of his earlier Impressionist paintings.123
Pissarro’s engagement with this style was relatively short-lived; by about 1889, he began to move away from pointillism, feeling that the rigid technique made it difficult to remain true to his sensations and effectively capture life and movement. During his period of experimentation, he notably exhibited several Neo-Impressionist works, such as View from My Window, Eragny-sur-Epte, at the final Impressionist exhibition in 1886.12