In 1887, George Seurat exhibited seven paintings in Brussel at the progressive salon of Les Vingt, including his famous Dimache d'Ete a la Grande Jatte. A number of Belgian painters and also Dutch painter Jan Toorop were duly impressed by Seurat's pointillist technique. He may have seen Seurat's work earlier in Paris, and absorbed this new style in his repertoire. Around 1888 Toorop applied a variety in technique, style and subject. The changes of environment in visits to Belgium, England and the Netherlands were partly responsible for this heterogeneous character. Avant la journée de travail belongs to a group of fifteen truly pointillist paintings from 1887 until 1890, after which the artist finally turned to symbolism. This early group can be clearly divided into two parts: the social scenes, where the subject dominates and the landscapes. In contrast to Seurat's original aim to represent colours and light in a scientifically acceptable method, the emphasis in Toorop's pointillist pictures is much more on the atmosphere. As Siebelhoff states both the colours and the tâches of Toorop's pointillist work have a largely decorative character. He consciously toned down his pointillism in order to adjust to his subject. The present work is painted in subdued brown, yellow, green and blue and the density of the pointillism creates a curiously hazy atmosphere which effectively represents the early morning surfacing through the window and the alternation of light and shadows on the floor. Depicting the farmers in their ritual routine of the day is closely related to the subject matter, which fascinated Toorop during his stay in Machelen. This seems to justify a date of 1888 for this painting. Two other paintings from that period, Seduction (private collection) and Au Nes (collection Haags Gemeente Museum, The Hague), have a similar general tonality without emphasis on local colours. These works feature a tendency towards the colour concept of impressionism while abandoning the use of a pointillist brush technique.