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| Emile Bernard "Breton Women on a Wall" |
Cloisonnism
and 20th cent. Art.
Cloisonnism
should be regarded as one of the pivotal ideas in the development of 20th
cent. painting. It could be regarded as one of the major concepts of several
Post-Impressionist artists in their search
for a new direction away from Impressionist
painting. The focus on colour and fleeting play of light had dissolved the
ridged internal structure of painting, the idea of reintroducing solidity into
their work appealed to several artists around the 1880’s. Van Gogh and Gauguin
were two major exponents. Emile Bernard,
Louis Anquetin, and Toulouse-Lautrec among others were early pioneers of the
style
French 13th cent. Stained Glass Window.
Katsukawa Shunko
"Head of a male Actor" c. 1784-8 Woodblock.
Collection: Mannendorf Amstntz .
In their search for a solution these artists turned to two
Oriental art forms for inspiration, namely Japanese woodblocks [that were very
popular in Europe at the time] and cloisonné a technique still used today in
craft work shop in Asia. This technique
requires the separation of enamel colours to be separated by the use of fine
metal lines soldered onto the object. Another source of inspiration available
was the stained glass windows of Gothic cathedrals.
Cloisonne Censer, Ming. [detail]
Mark Hugan Te
The idea of separation is quite obvious when we examine the
above examples, with stained glass you will notice how the intensity of the coloured
glass is heighten by the lead tracery that holds the piece together. Likewise
each colour change in a Japanese woodcut required the cutting of a separate
wood block, resulting in the creation of distinct and separate
colour and textured areas within the work.
Emile Bernard
"Breton Women in Meadow"
Paul Gauguin
"Vision After the Sermon, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel"
Vincent Van Gogh
"The Arena at Arles"
Hermitage Museum.
Vincent Van Gogh
"Ladies of Arles" [detail]
Hermitage Museum
I have
selected a number of examples of visual works to illustrate how the painting of
dark lines around areas intensify
colour, and how various artists of the late 1880s influenced each other in
their search for a new approach. We only have to compare the two following
artists , one a painting by Bernard “Breton Women in Meadow”, and Gauguin’s
“Vision After the Sermon” to appreciate the singularity of their vision in
searching for solutions. Another painting by Van Gogh’s “Ladies of Arles” also demonstrates
his interest in this idea. If you
compare these artists works with a detail of Monet’s “Corner of the
Garden at Mondgeron” you can grasp what these painters were attempting to achieve.
Monet
"Corner of the Gardenat Mondgeron" [detail]
Hermitage Museum
Monet
"Poppy Fields" Hermitage Museum
Pablo Picasso
"Seated Women"
The idea of
Cloisonnism however did not stop here with the Post-Impressionists, but was
taken up, and further developed by many artists as they developed other major
art movements during the 20th cent.
Even though many different artistic , and aesthetic
visions that were to follow, Cubism. Expressionism, Abstracting to name
just a few, plus all the other isms of 20th cent art . The idea of Cloisonnism in painting continued to be
developed and appears from time to time depending on the artists intent in modern art.
Otto Muller
"Seated women"
Frau Maria Helsig Collection, Kiel.
Pablo Picasso
used the idea widely as his “ Seated Women” painted in 1927 confirms along with
many of his other ideas developed from Cubism of his interest. Later still we find the technique being used
by the German artist Otto Muller in his “Seated Women”. Here the use of the
devise Cloisonnism greatly enhances the dramatic impact of his painting, so the technique could be used
for other purposes. This continual use of this old idea has played no small
part in the development of 20th cent. art, and in my view deserves greater attention in
any survey of the art of our time.
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