Synthetism Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Synthetism is a style of painting that developed out of Cloisonnism. Synthetism formed a current within
symbolism. It was practised by
Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, Louis Anquetin, and others in the late 1880s and early 1890s.
The term
synthetism derives from the French verb
synthétiser (
to synthesize or
to combine so as to form a new, complex product). It is based on the idea that
art should be a synthesis of three features:
- The outward appearance of natural forms.
- The artist’s feelings about his subject.
- Purely aesthetic considerations of line, colour and form.
The term was coined in 1889 when Gauguin and Emile Schuffenecker organized
L’Exposition de peintures du groupe impressioniste et synthétiste, an exhibition in the
Café Volpini at the
Exposition Universelle in Paris. The confusing title acknowledged the artists’ roots in
Impressionism, with its adherence to natural forms and the depiction of light, while at the same time highlighting their more recent attempts to abandon nature as the focal point of art. Although realistic (tangible subjects served as the starting-point for synthetist artists), these artists distorted these images in order to express more clearly certain moods or interpretations. Synthetism emphasized two-dimensional flat patterns, thus breaking with Impressionist art and theory. The style shows a conscious effort to work less directly from nature and to rely more upon memory. Synthetist paintings are characterized by bright flat shapes and symbolic treatments of abstract ideas.
In 1890, Maurice Denis summarized the goals of Synthetism: ‘It is well to remember that a picture before being a battle horse, a nude woman, or some anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colours assembled in a certain order.’
Synthetist paintings
- Paul Serusier - Bois d'amour (Talisman) (1888)
- Paul Gauguin - Vision After The Sermon (1888), La Belle Angele (1889), The Loss of Innocence (1890)
- Emile Bernard - Buckwheat Harvest (1888)
- Cuno Amiet - Breton Spinner (1893)
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