Style of painting that developed out of Cloisonnism and formed a current within Symbolism. The spirit in which Gauguin rendered Breton scenes was mystical.

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[1] The term is derived from the French verb synthétiser (to synthesize or to combine so as to form a new, complex product). Bernard and Anquetin used the name Cloisonnism to describe their painting method, equating the design effect of large areas of pure colour and wide black outlines to the

It was practised by Paul Gauguin and his circle in the late 1880s and early 1890s.

The style shows a conscious effort to work less directly from nature and to rely more upon memory.



Synthetism is a term used by post-Impressionist artists like Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard and Louis Anquetin to distinguish their work from Impressionism.Earlier, Synthetism has been connected to the term Cloisonnism, and later to Symbolism.

Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The term was coined in 1889 when Gauguin and Emile Schuffenecker organized an exhibition entitled L’Exposition de peintures du groupe impressioniste et synthétiste in the Café Volpini at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. The term is derived from the French verb synthétiser (to synthesize or to combine so as to form a new, complex product). He sought to develop a new decorative style in art based on areas of pure colour (…is sometimes credited with founding Cloisonnism ( Synthetism is a term used by post-Impressionist artists like Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard and Louis Anquetin to distinguish their work from Impressionism.Earlier, Synthetism has been connected to the term Cloisonnism, and later to Symbolism. Synthetism 1888 - 1896. He felt that their preoccupation with the study of light effects in nature was confining, superficial, and neglectful of thought and ideas. Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn!





Cloisonnism is a style of post-Impressionist painting with bold and flat forms separated by dark contours. The term derives from the French verb synthétiser (to synthesize) and 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, and purely aesthetic considerations of line, colour, and form.

Although realistic, tangible subjects served as their starting-point, the artists distorted these images in order to express more clearly certain moods or interpretations. Synthetism is a term used by post-Impressionist artists like Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard and Louis Anquetin to distinguish their work from Impressionism.Earlier, Synthetism has been connected to the term Cloisonnism, and later to Symbolism. The term was coined by critic Edouard Dujardin on the occasion of the Salon des Indépendants, in March 1888. He wrote:…

It was practised by Paul Gauguin and his circle in the late 1880s and early 1890s.
…an outline effect)—hence the name Cloisonnisme used to describe this style. 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.