Definition

Noun: 1. An artistic style and movement: Synthetism is a genre of late 19th-century French painting, primarily associated with Paul Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School. It is characterized by the use of bold, flat areas of color, strong outlines, and a symbolic, non-naturalistic approach to representing subjects. The style emphasizes the artist's synthesis of the observed subject with their own feelings, memories, and decorative intent, moving away from direct imitation of nature.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Paul Gauguin is considered a master of synthetism, as seen in his Tahitian paintings.
  • The museum's new exhibition explores the development of synthetism in the 1880s.
  • The painting's simplified forms and symbolic use of color are hallmarks of synthetism.

Advanced Usage

• As a theoretical concept: The term can be used to describe the artistic principle of synthesis—combining observation with emotion and symbolic meaning into a unified, decorative whole.
  • His artistic philosophy was rooted in synthetism, prioritizing emotional expression over realistic detail.

Variants and Related Words

• Synthetist (noun): An artist who practices or adheres to synthetism.
  • Gauguin and Émile Bernard were leading Synthetists.
• Synthetic (adjective): In an art context, this can describe the quality of being composed or combined into a unified whole, related to the principles of synthetism. (Note: This is a broader term with common uses outside of art).

Synonyms

• Cloisonnism: A very closely related style that also features flat color areas separated by dark outlines, resembling cloisonné enamelwork. It is often discussed alongside synthetism.
• Symbolism (in visual arts): A broader artistic movement emphasizing symbols and ideas over realism, of which synthetism is a part.

Related Idioms or Phrases

• Synthesis of form and color: A phrase often used to describe the core technique of synthetism.
  • The artist achieved a powerful synthesis of form and color in her work.

Noun

1. a genre of French painting characterized by bright flat shapes and symbolic treatments of abstract ideas