Synthetism
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Synthetism is a term used by Post-Impressionist artists like
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
, Émile Bernard and
Louis Anquetin Louis Émile Anquetin (26 January 1861 – 19 August 1932) was a French painting, painter. Biography Anquetin was born in Étrépagny, France, and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille (Rouen), Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen. In 1882 he cam ...
to distinguish their work stylistically from
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. Earlier, ''Synthetism'' has been connected to the term Cloisonnism, and later to Symbolism. The term is derived from the French verb ''synthétiser'' (''to synthesize'' or ''to combine so as to form a new, complex product'').


History

Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, Louis Anquetin, and others pioneered the style during the late 1880s and early 1890s. Synthetist artists aimed to ''synthesize'' three features: *The outward appearance of natural forms. *The artist's feelings about their subject. *The purity of the aesthetic considerations of line, colour and form. In 1890,
Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...
summarized the goals for synthetism as, :''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.'' The term was first used in 1877 to distinguish between scientific and naturalistic
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
, and in 1889 when Gauguin and Emile Schuffenecker organized an '' Exposition de peintures du groupe impressioniste et synthétiste'' in the Café Volpini at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. The confusing title has been mistakenly associated with
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. Synthetism emphasized two-dimensional flat patterns, thus differing from Impressionist art and theory.


Synthetist paintings

* Paul Sérusier - ''Talisman (Bois d'amour)'' (1888) *
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
- ''Vision After The Sermon'' (1888), ''La Belle Angele'' (1889), ''The Loss of Innocence'' (1890) * Émile Bernard - ''Buckwheat Harvest'' (1888) *
Charles Laval Charles Laval (; 17 March 1862 – 27 April 1894) was a French painter associated with the Synthetic movement and Pont-Aven School. Laval was born in Paris, and was a contemporary and friend of Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. Gauguin cre ...
- ''Going to Market'' (1888) * Cuno Amiet - ''Breton Spinner'' (1893)


Gallery

Image:Paul Gauguin 085.jpg,
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
, ''Les Alyscamps,'' (1888),
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
File:La vision après le sermon (Paul Gauguin).jpg,
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
, '' Vision after the Sermon,'' 1888. File:Paul Sérusier 001.jpg, Paul Sérusier, ''The Talisman (with the forest landscape of love in Pont-Aven)'' 1888 File:Laval Allant au marché.jpg,
Charles Laval Charles Laval (; 17 March 1862 – 27 April 1894) was a French painter associated with the Synthetic movement and Pont-Aven School. Laval was born in Paris, and was a contemporary and friend of Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. Gauguin cre ...
, ''Going to Market, Brittany'', 1888, Indianapolis Museum of ArtCharles Laval
Retrieved April 6, 2011 File:Paul Gauguin 028.jpg,
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
, '' The Green Christ'', 1889 File:Émile Bernard 1888-08 - Breton Women in the Meadow (Le Pardon de Pont-Aven).jpg, Émile Bernard, ''Breton Women in the Meadow'',  August 1888. Bernard exchanged this one with Gauguin who brought it to
Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
in autumn 1888 when he joined Van Gogh, who was fond of this style. Van Gogh painted a copy in watercolor to inform his brother Theo about it. File:Breton Women.jpg,
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
, ''Breton Women and Children'', November 1888 (watercolor after Bernard). File:Porträt Paul Ranson.jpg, ''Portrait of Paul Ranson'' by Paul Sérusier, 1890,
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
Image:Louis Anquetin.jpg,
Louis Anquetin Louis Émile Anquetin (26 January 1861 – 19 August 1932) was a French painting, painter. Biography Anquetin was born in Étrépagny, France, and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille (Rouen), Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen. In 1882 he cam ...
, ''Reading Woman,'' 1890


References

{{Westernart Post-Impressionism Symbolism (arts)