Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Cloisonnism: Divide the picture into a few large cells, edge to edge, partitioned by heavy lines
- Type
- Set in Cloisonnism's manner (Set lettering outside the cells in black at the keyline weight, hand drawn or slab), and let Les Nabis's lettering (Soft, slightly irregular serifs or hand-drawn titling woven into the pattern) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Cloisonnism's material (Flat unmodulated colour from memory inside dark contours, with no shadow or gradient); bring in exactly one thing from Les Nabis (Muted intermediate tones—dusty rose, olive, ochre—on matte, absorbent surfaces).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Fin de Siècle Art, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Cloisonnism Adding 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.
- Les Nabis Matching figure and pattern too closely turns the picture into plain wallpaper, and who is doing what disappears. Sink the figure in, but keep its contour readable.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Cloisonnism (Style, 1888–1895) and its accent from Les Nabis (Style, 1888–1900). Structural cues: Thick, dark contour lines; Flat colour fields without shading; Decoratively simplified shapes; Colouring drawn from memory. Accent cues, used sparingly: Compositions conceived as decorative panels; Reversals of pattern and ground; Harmonies of muted intermediate tones; Subjects of interiors and daily life. Composition: Divide the picture into a few large cells, edge to edge, partitioned by heavy lines. Type and lettering: Set lettering outside the cells in black at the keyline weight, hand drawn or slab. Let one material quality come from the second style: Muted intermediate tones—dusty rose, olive, ochre—on matte, absorbent surfaces. Mood: Luxury, Intimacy, Calm. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Cloisonnism 1888–1895 / Style / Fin de Siècle Art
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.
- Les Nabis 1888–1900 / Style / Fin de Siècle Art
A group of painters who called themselves prophets, setting out from the declaration that a picture is essentially a flat surface covered in a certain order. They extended interiors and daily life into decorative panels, lithographs, book illustration and stage design, dissolving the boundary between fine and applied art.
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