Theo van Rysselberghe

Théo van Rysselberghe was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the century. Barely 18 years old, he has developed his own realistic style, close to impressionism. The accurate rendering of light would continue to occupy his mind. He was one of the prominent co-founders of the Belgian artistic circle Les XX on 28 October 1883. This was a circle of young radical artists, rebels against the outmoded academism of that time and the prevailing artistic standards. After van Rysselberghe saw the works of the impressionists Monet and Renoir, he was deeply impressed and start experimented with this technique. He discovered the pointillist technique when he saw Georges Seurat's La Grande Jatte in 1886, abandoned realism and became an adept of pointillism. After 1890s, he slowly reduced the use of points, began applying somewhat broader strokes and after 1910 abandoned it completely.