Orphism or Orphic Cubism, a term coined by the French

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

in 1912, was an offshoot of

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

that focused on pure

abstraction Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or " concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abst ...

and bright colors, influenced by

Fauvism Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

, the theoretical writings of

Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the Pointillist style. Biography Paul Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. ...

Charles Henry Charles, Charlie, or Chuck Henry may refer to: Sportsmen * Charlie Henry (baseball) (1900–1972), American Negro leagues baseball player * Charles Henry (basketball), Gonzaga basketball coach for the 1943–44 season * Charlie Henry (footballer, ...

and the dye chemist

Michel Eugène Chevreul Michel Eugène Chevreul (31 August 1786 – 9 April 1889) was a French chemist and centenarian whose work influenced several areas in science, medicine, and art. His early work with animal fats revolutionized soap and candle manufacturing and le ...

. This movement, perceived as key in the transition from Cubism to

Abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 1 ...

, was pioneered by František Kupka,

Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes. His later works were more abstra ...

and

Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (13 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in Odessa (then part of Russian Empire), and formally trained in Russian Empire and Germany before moving to Fr ...

, who relaunched the use of color during the monochromatic phase of Cubism. The meaning of the term Orphism was elusive when it first appeared and remains to some extent vague.

History

The Orphists were rooted in

but tended towards a pure

lyrical abstraction Lyrical abstraction is either of two related but distinct trends in Post-war Modernist painting: ''European Abstraction Lyrique'' born in Paris, the French art critic Jean José Marchand being credited with coining its name in 1947, considered ...

. They saw art as the unification of sensation and color. More concerned with sensation, they began with recognizable subjects, depicted with abstract structures. Orphism aimed to vacate recognizable subject matter by concentrating exclusively on ''form'' and ''color''. The movement also strove toward the ideals of Simultanism: endless interrelated states of being. The decomposition of spectral light in Neo-Impressionist color theory of

and

played an important role in the development of Orphism.

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

, and Gino Severini all knew Henry personally.Robert Herbert, 1968, Neo-Impressionism, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York A mathematician, inventor, and esthetician, Charles Henry was a close friend of the Symbolist writers

Félix Fénéon Félix Fénéon (; 22 June 1861 – 29 February 1944) was a French art critic, gallery director, writer and anarchist during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He coined the term ''Neo-Impressionism'' in 1886 to identify a group of a ...

and Gustave Kahn. He also knew Seurat, Signac and

Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). H ...

, whom he met during the eighth and last Impressionist exhibition in 1886. Henry brought ''emotional associational theory'' into the realm of art: something that ultimately influenced the Neo-Impressionists. Henry and Seurat agreed that the basic elements of art—line, color and form—like words, could be treated independently, each with its own abstract quantity, independent of one another, or in unison, depending on the intention of the artist. "Seurat knows well" wrote Fénéton in 1889, "that the line, independent of its topographical role, possesses an assessable abstract value" in addition to the particles of color, and the relation to emotion of the viewer. The underlying theory behind Neo-Impressionsim had a lasting effect on the works of Delaunay. The Neo-Impressionists had succeeded in establishing an objective scientific basis for their painting in the domain of color, but only as regards the spectrum of light (for paint pigments the result was less scientific). The Cubists ultimately employed the theory to some extent in color, form and ''dynamics''. The Symbolists perceived

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

of Greek mythology as the ideal artist. In 1907 Apollinaire wrote ''Bestiaire ou cortège d'Orphée'', symbolizing Orpheus as a mystic and influential poet and artist, just as the Symbolists. ''The voice of light'' that Apollinaire mentioned in his poems was a metaphor for ''inner experiences''.

Apollinaire

Apollinaire mentioned the term Orphism in an address at the Salon de la

Section d'Or The Section d'Or ("Golden Section"), also known as Groupe de Puteaux or Puteaux Group, was a collective of Painting, painters, sculptors, poets and critics associated with Cubism and Orphism (art), Orphism. Based in the Parisian suburbs, the grou ...

in 1912, referring to the ''pure painting'' of František Kupka. In his 1913 '' Les Peintres Cubistes, Méditations Esthétiques'' Apollinaire described Orphism as "the art of painting new totalities with elements that the artist does not take from visual reality, but creates entirely by himself. ..An Orphic painter's works should convey an 'untroubled aesthetic pleasure', a meaningful structure and sublime significance." Orphism represented a new art-form, much as music was to literature. These analogies could be seen in the titles of paintings such as Kupka's ''Amorpha: Fugue in Two Colors'' (1912);

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...

's ''Dance at the Source'' (1912) and

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

's ''Über das Geistige in der Kunst'' (1912). Kandinsky described the relationships between sound and color. Robert Delaunay was concerned with color and music, and exhibited with the

Blaue Reiter ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider) is a designation by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc for their exhibition and publication activities, in which both artists acted as sole editors in the almanac of the same name, first published in mid-May ...

at the request of Kandinsky. The increasingly abstract paintings of

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

and

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

were also treated as Orphists by Apollinaire.

Exhibitions

The Salon de la Section d'Or in 1912 was the first exhibition that presented Orphism to the general public. In March 1913 Orphism was exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. Reviewing the salon in ''Montjoie'' (29 March 1913) Apollinaire argued for the abolition of Cubism in favor of Orphism: "If Cubism is dead, long live Cubism. The kingdom of Orpheus is at hand!" The Autumn salon (

Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon (First German Autumn Salon) was the title of an art exhibition that was organized in 1913 by Herwarth Walden in Berlin. Henri Rousseau memorial exhibition The exhibition opened on 20 September 1913 in rented rooms ...

, Berlin) of 1913, organized by

Herwarth Walden Herwarth Walden (actual name Georg Lewin; 16 September 1879, in Berlin – 31 October 1941, in Saratov, Russia) was a German expressionist artist and art expert in many disciplines. He is broadly acknowledged as one of the most important discove ...

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 an ...

, exhibited many works by Robert and Sonia Delaunay,

Jean Metzinger Jean Dominique Antony Metzinger (; 24 June 1883 – 3 November 1956) was a major 20th-century French painter, theorist, writer, critic and poet, who along with Albert Gleizes wrote the first theoretical work on Cubism. His earliest works, from 1 ...

's '' L'Oiseau bleu'' (1913, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris),

' ''

Les Joueurs de football ''Les Joueurs de football'', also referred to as ''Football Players'', is a 1912–13 painting by the French artist, theorist and writer Albert Gleizes. The work was exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, Paris, March–May 1913 (no. 1293). Se ...

'' (1912–13, National Gallery of Art), paintings by Picabia, and Léger, along with several Futurist works. From this exhibition Apollinaire's relation with R. Delaunay cooled, following remarks with

Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (, ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...

about the ambiguity of 'simultaneity'. Apollinaire no longer used the term Orphism in his subsequent writings and began instead promoting Picabia,

Alexander Archipenko Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (also referred to as Olexandr, Oleksandr, or Aleksandr; uk, Олександр Порфирович Архипенко, Romanized: Olexandr Porfyrovych Arkhypenko; February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian and American ...

, and Futurist concepts. Delaunay ChampDeMars

Delaunays

Robert Delaunay and his wife

Sonia Terk Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (13 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in Odessa (then part of Russian Empire), and formally trained in Russian Empire and Germany before moving to Fr ...

remained the main protagonists of the Orphic movement. Their earlier works focused on Fauvist colors, variously abstract; such as Sonia's 1907 ''Finnish Girl'' and Robert's 1906 ''Paysage au disque''. The former relying on pure colors, the latter on color and mosaic-like brushstrokes painted under the influence of

, also a Neo-Impressionist (with highly

Divisionist Divisionism, also called chromoluminarism, was the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches which interacted optically..Homer, William I. ''Seurat and the Science of ...

and Fauve components) at the time. Even though Orphism was effectively dissolved before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, American painters

Patrick Henry Bruce Artist Patrick Henry Bruce (3rd from left) & friends/associates in front of the entrance to a 300px Patrick Henry Bruce (March 25, 1881 – November 12, 1936) was an American cubist painter. Biography A descendant of Patrick Henry, Bruce wa ...

and

Arthur Burdett Frost Arthur Burdett Frost (January 17, 1851 – June 22, 1928), usually cited as A. B. Frost, was an American illustrator, graphic artist, painter and comics writer. He is best known for his illustrations of Brer Rabbit and other characters i ...

, two of R. Delaunay's pupils, embarked on a similar form of art from 1912 onward. The Synchromists

Morgan Russell Morgan Russell (January 25, 1886 – May 29, 1953) was a modern American artist. With Stanton Macdonald-Wright, he was the founder of Synchromism, a provocative style of abstract painting that dates from 1912 to the 1920s. Russell's "synchromie ...

and

Stanton Macdonald-Wright Stanton Macdonald-Wright (July 8, 1890 – August 22, 1973), was a modern American artist. He was a co-founder of Synchromism, an early abstract, color-based mode of painting, which was the first American avant-garde art movement to receive int ...

wrote their own manifestos in an attempt to differentiate themselves from the Orphism of the Delaunays.Hajo Düchting, ''Orphism'', Grove Art Online, Oxford University Press, 2003
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References and sources

;References ;Sources *Baron, Stanley; Damase, Jacques. ''Sonia Delaunay: The Life of an Artist''. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995 * Buckberrough, Sherry A. ''Robert Delaunay: The Discovery of Simultaneity''. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1978. * Chadwick, Whitney; de Courtivron, Isabelle. (ed) ''Significant Others: Creativity and Intimate partnership''. London: Thames & Hudson, 1993. * Chip, Herschel B. "Orphism and Color Theory". ''The Art Bulletin'', Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 55–63, Mar 1958. * Damase, Jacque. ''Sonia Delaunay: Rhythms and Colours''. Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Society Ltd, 1972. * Gale, Matthew. ''Dada and Surrealism''. New York: Phaidon Press Inc., 2006 * Hughes, Gordon "Envisioning Abstraction: The Simultaneity of Robert Delaunay's First Disk". ''The Art Bulletin'', Vol. 89, No. 2, pp. 306–332, Jun 2007. The College Art Association. * MoMA
Orphism
* Seidner, David. Sonia Delaunay. BOMB Magazine, 2/Winter, ART, 1982
BOMB Magazine: Sonia Delauney by David Seidner
* Stangoes, Nikos (ed). ''Concepts of Modern Art: Fauvism to Post-Modernism''. Chapter: "Orphism",

Virginia Spate Virginia Margaret Spate (; 1937 – 12 August 2022) was a British-born Australian art historian and academic. Spate was born in the United Kingdom in 1937. She lived in Burma as a child until her family was evacuated during the Pacific War. In ...

. (Revised) London: Thames & Hudson, 1981.

External links