Cloisonnism vs Japonisme

クロワゾニスム / ジャポニスム

Cloisonnism comes from Fin de Siècle Art and Japonisme from Cross-cultural Reception. Both are read here as style. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.

Cloisonnism

Cloisonnism — Paul Gauguin《説教のあとの幻影》1888 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainCloisonnism — Émile Bernard《ポン=タヴェンのりんご摘み》1888 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainCloisonnism — Émile Bernard《牧場のブルターニュの女たち》1888 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A manner of painting named after the partitions of cloisonné enamel: flat fields of colour enclosed by heavy contour lines. It brought the way of seeing of ukiyo-e prints and stained glass into oil painting, abandoning shaded volume in favour of colour laid down from memory. The technique that prepared the flatness of the poster.

Japonisme

Japonisme — ゴッホ『タンギー爺さん』1887 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainJaponisme — モネ『ラ・ジャポネーズ』1876 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainJaponisme — ホイッスラー『ピーコック・ルーム』1877 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Re-edits asymmetry, flatness and daring crops learned from Japanese prints into Western modern composition.

CloisonnismJaponisme
Era1888–18951850s–1900s
FamilyFin de Siècle ArtCross-cultural Reception
KindStyleStyle
CuesThick, dark contour lines / Flat colour fields without shading / Decoratively simplified shapes / Colouring drawn from memoryAsymmetry / Bold cropping / Flat color planes / Plants and everyday objects
Best used forWork built cell by cell in separate colours, like stained glass or tilework · Drawing a remembered landscape in simple shapes and colour rather than from lifeBreaking the Western centered composition with margin and cut · Reading a real chapter of cultural exchange concretely
TypeSet lettering outside the cells in black at the keyline weight, hand drawn or slabFaces true to the period and author; no meaningless Japanese
CompositionDivide the picture into a few large cells, edge to edge, partitioned by heavy linesCut the subject at the frame's edge; show depth by overlapping planes
MaterialFlat unmodulated colour from memory inside dark contours, with no shadow or gradientWoodblock colors, paper tone, keylines
CautionAdding heavy outlines afterwards produces no division of colour, only an ordinary picture inside lines. Letting shading or depth back into the cells breaks the enamel like flatness.Not generic 'Japanese style.' Show who referred to what, through which route.

Put these two together

Fin de Siècle Art ／ Cross-cultural Reception

IndexStyle