AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PICTORIAL PERCEPTION IN THE CONTEXT OF POINTILLISM AND GESTALT THEORY
Öz
This study examines the epistemological relationship between Pointillism and Gestalt theory in order to analyze the cognitive structure of visual perception. Emerging from nineteenth century optical science, Pointillism developed a visual system that decomposes color into discrete chromatic units and transfers perceptual synthesis to the viewer. Gestalt theory later explained that perception exceeds the sum of its parts and that visual unity is constructed through mental organization. Using qualitative visual analysis, this study investigates Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Pissarro’s Woman in the Orchard, and Signac’s Entrance to the Port of Marseille. The findings demonstrate that these works embody perceptual principles such as proximity, similarity, continuity, and figure ground organization. The results indicate that Pointillism operates not merely as an artistic style but as a visual epistemology that reveals the constructive nature of perception. The study concludes that artistic practice anticipates modern cognitive accounts of how meaning emerges through perceptual synthesis.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Pointillism, Gestalt Theory, Visual Perception, Neuroaesthetics, Visual Epistemology
Kaynakça
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