Artists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed Pointillism in 1886 as a branch from traditional Impressionism. Pointillism is characterized by works made of dots of pure colored paint in order to form a full image. Originally, the term was used by critics to mock the technique, but that connotation is no longer used. The technique relies on the viewer’s eye blending the color spots into a fuller range of tones. Divisionism functions similarly, however, focuses more on color theory and technical methods.