Théophile "Théo" van Rysselberghe was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter, who played a pivotal role in the European art scene at the turn of the twentieth century. One of the main features of his technique is the combination of dots of different sizes in one picture. The artist uses large strokes for the background and large objects, and small strokes for details and faces. Reisselberge combines the technique of separate strokes of pure shades even with classically organized portraits of relatives and friends, with academic poses and classical compositions.