Louis Anquetin

French painter, art theorist, and one of the founders of Synthetism. Louis Anquetin is also known as the pioneer of Cloisonnism, a new method of painting that he developed together with Emile Bernard in 1887. This style became the basis for the picturesque “synthetic” symbolism and brought the artist glory as well as recognition his contemporaries.

Most of the painter’s works are canvases depicting female figures inside or on the street. The artist often painted scenes in the theatre or in the cafe, or on the streets of Paris at any time of day. The author skillfully showed the specific lighting and atmosphere of the city at night. His works depicting mystical women at night have attracted the attention of many an art lover and collector.

Long periods of creative searching led the artist to reject modern art and turn to Classicism. Despite being a successful young painter, whose works were exhibited at The Salon of Independent Artists and at the international exhibition in Paris, he decided to go back to traditional art. This decision was met with disapproval from critics and other painters, and Anquetin experienced significant loneliness as a result. He spent the rest of his life unknown and was almost forgotten after his death. However, the influence he had on other artists is undeniable.

Anquetin was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Key ideas:

– The talent of the painter was multi-faceted. He was always eager for experiment in the realm of art, and bravely used artistic methods which were close to him in spirit. Conversing with other painters since his student years (his friends were Emile Bernard and Vincent van Gogh), Anquetin always did experiments. He tried to find his own style and place in the art world.

– After creating Cloisonnism, Anquetin did not further develop his own artistic direction but returned to traditional painting. The artist created classical oil paintings, studied anatomy, and composed scientific works.