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Vincent van Gogh<\/a>‘s painting of “P\u00e8re Tanguy<\/a>”\u00a0– done in what the French call\u00a0Cloisonnism<\/a><\/strong>…<\/em><\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n I recently skimmed through the book,\u00a0Van Gogh<\/em> <\/strong>(Gramercy Great Masters)<\/a>, and ran across this on page 25.\u00a0 It was about two paintings Van Gogh<\/a>\u00a0did in 1868:*<\/p>\n In the first of these, he used the technique of\u00a0cloisonnism<\/a><\/em>, the name of which was derived from a French word meaning “divided.”\u00a0 This approach was typical of [Paul]\u00a0Gauguin<\/a>, but was also used by many\u00a0Symbolist<\/a>\u00a0painters, and consisted of surrounding every object with a distinct outline.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Anyway, the basic idea is – as noted – to “surround every object” in the painting “with a distinct outline.”\u00a0 And on the theme of\u00a0great minds think alike<\/a>, I thought to myself, “That’s what I’ve<\/em> <\/strong>been doing!”\u00a0 Or at least that’s an idea I’ve developed in my recent painting.<\/p>\n But I never totally gave up on my art.\u00a0 The problem?\u00a0\u00a0I wondered why my paintings always looked so blah, and – in the fullness of time – finally found out why.\u00a0 I never outlined anything, so all the objects in my paintings pretty much blended together.<\/p>\n Gauguin relies heavily on bold lines to define his figures…\u00a0 The bold outlines and flatness of the forms in this painting are typical of the\u00a0cloisonnist<\/a>\u00a0style.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And just as an aside, some sources say the word – “after the French for ‘partition'” – was a style of\u00a0expressionism<\/a>\u00a0featuring large patches of bright color “enclosed within thick black outlines, in the manner of medieval\u00a0cloisonn\u00e9 enamelling<\/a>\u00a0or stained glass.”\u00a0 Also, “The word ‘Cloisonnism’ is used interchangeably with the term ‘Synthetism<\/a>,'” although artists “like Gauguin did not use the thick black outlines which are the hallmark of cloisonnist paintings.”<\/p>\n Whatever<\/a>!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (But only in the sense that “it’s about time this post came to an end.”)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n So anyway, that’s what the French call\u00a0Cloisonnism<\/a>.\u00a0 Which leads me to say,”Boy, those French have a fancy name for everything.”\u00a0 Or as Professor Henry Higgins<\/a>\u00a0said in\u00a0My Fair Lady<\/a>, “The French don’t care what they do actually, as long as they pronounce it properly!”<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Portrait of P\u00e8re Tanguy – Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 Other sources – for paintings and text – include\u00a0Cloisonnism: History, Characteristics – Art Encyclopedia<\/a>,\u00a0Artworks by style: Cloisonnism – WikiArt.org<\/a>,\u00a0Cloisonnism – Wikipedia<\/a>, and\u00a0124 best Art – Cloisonnism images … Paul Gauguin<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNote\u201d also that an asterisk in the main text indicates a statement supported by a reference detailed further in this \u201cnotes\u201d section.\u00a0 Thus as to the two paintings Van Gogh did in 1868:\u00a0 They were\u00a0L’Arl\u00e9sienne<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Portrait of Armand Roulin<\/a>.\u00a0 (One of several versions.)<\/em><\/p>\n Re:\u00a0P\u00e8re<\/a>.\u00a0 According to\u00a0Wiktionary<\/a>, the term can mean either a “priest<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Roman Catholic Church<\/a>, especially a French one,” or in the alternative the term is used “after a proper name that is common to a father and his son to indicate that the father is being referred to rather than the son;\u00a0junior<\/a>,\u00a0fils<\/a>.”\u00a0 See also\u00a0P\u00e8re | Definition … by Merriam-Webster<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/h1>\n
![\"Donald](\"http:\/\/static1.businessinsider.com\/image\/56684d90dd089548678b46f7-480\/donald-trump.jpg\")
I’m taking a break from doing posts on\u00a0politics<\/a>.\u00a0 (As currently illustrated at right.)\u00a0<\/em> Instead, this post will be on painting, as in\u00a0oil painting<\/a>\u00a0and\/or\u00a0acrylic painting<\/a>.\u00a0 That’s\u00a0what I do when I’m not working on my blogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.browarddefender.org\/PDlogo.JPG\")
I’m 66 and semi-retired, and so can now spend my time on things I enjoy doing, rather than things I have to do to make a living.\u00a0 I was a\u00a0public defender<\/a>\u00a0for 24 years in Florida, but I was originally an art major.\u00a0 (For my bachelor’s degree.)\u00a0<\/em> But as graduation grew near I thought it would be better to major in something that would help me get a job.\u00a0 (Rather than, “You want fries with that?”)\u00a0<\/em> And ultimately I ended up in law school.<\/p>\n![\"Gauguin](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/35\/Gauguin_Il_Cristo_giallo.jpg\/800px-Gauguin_Il_Cristo_giallo.jpg\")
For example, if you look closely at Van Gogh’s \u201cPortrait of Pere Tanguy<\/a>\u201d – at the top of the page -you’ll see that\u00a0P\u00e8re<\/a>*\u00a0is surrounded by bright red outline.\u00a0 Or – speaking of\u00a0Paul Gauguin<\/a>\u00a0– you can see a much more exaggerated version in his\u00a0The Yellow Christ<\/a>\u00a0(“one of the key works of\u00a0Symbolism<\/a>\u00a0in painting.”)<\/p>\nWords of wisdom to live by…<\/em><\/h2>\n
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