synthetism

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A French painting style from the late 1800s that uses bold flat colors and simple symbols to show ideas

noun
/sɪnˈθɛtɪzəm/

Specialized

: sintetismo

Paul Gauguin is often credited with pioneering the style of synthetism, which emphasizes abstract concepts through color and form.

Examples

Painting acquires perhaps the greatest significance in the example he makes of Iurii Annenkov as the painterly model for his own poetics of Neorealism or Synthetism.

Academic text (2000)
The importance of the relationship between art and reality in Zamiatin's poetic theory becomes especially evident in his key text "On Synthetism." (n6)

Academic text (2000)
Indeed, those noting synthetism here were completely unaware that a very obvious profile of a man screams inside the artist's head, his neck possibly throttled by an orange hand (diagram at left).

Blog text (15)
The artist used bold colors and simple shapes to illustrate the principles of synthetism in his latest painting.
In the exhibition, several works exemplifying synthetism were displayed, showcasing their unique approach to representing deep ideas through vivid colors.

Surface Forms

synthetism singular

synthetisms plural

Morphology

synthetism = synthesis (semi-transparent) = synthesis + ism

The element 'synthesis' suggests 'combining' which signals a general idea behind the movement, but the specific art-historical characteristics cannot be derived from the base alone.

Etymology

The word synthetism comes from a root that means 'put together' and is the same root found in synthesis and synthetic. In art, synthetism describes a style that 'puts together' bold, flat areas of color and simple symbols, so the origin helps explain why the style combines color and idea into a single image.