Georges Seurat invented Pointillism — a technique of applying small, distinct dots of pure color that optically blend in the viewer's eye, producing a luminous vibrancy impossible with mixed paint. His masterpiece A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884–86), nearly 10 feet wide and containing over 40 human figures rendered in meticulous Pointillist technique, took two years to complete and became the defining image of Neo-Impressionism. He died of an illness — possibly meningitis — at just 31, leaving only seven major finished canvases.
