What is the Purism Art Movement?
The Purism Art Movement (known also as the “Purest of the Pure”) originated in Paris, France, in the early 1920s as a reaction to cubism, abstract art, and other avant-garde movements of the time. Pioneered by the French cubist painter and theorist, Amédée Ozenfant, Purism was defined by the desire to create an art of clarity and simplicity that was both uncluttered and highly ordered.
Purism refuted traditional conventions of form, color and line in favor of clear and geometrically balanced compositions that were inspired by the realities of the modern world. The art of Purism was more than a simple formalism; it was a reflection of the artist’s view of the world, a commentary on the modern condition, and a celebration of globalization, industrialization and its associated technologies.
History of the Purism Art Movement
The Purism art movement was developed in Paris during the period between 1922 and 1925 by Amédée Ozenfant and the French artist Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (known more commonly as Le Corbusier). Ozenfant and Le Corbusier developed Purism from the cubism of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris, combining the conventions of these earlier artistic movements with their own ideas to form what would become known as Purism.
Ozenfant and Le Corbusier quickly gained prominence within the Paris art scene, and their influence spread quickly throughout Europe. In their journal L’Esprit Nouveau, the two theoreticians laid out the principles of Purism, which they saw as a form of “plastic realism” that rejected the literalism of naturalism in favor of a more simplified, abstracted form.
Characteristics of Purism
The Purism Movement was marked by a number of key characteristics:
• Regular Orders: Compositions featuring regular orders and geometric and symmetrical balance.
• Clear Forms: Clear and easily identifiable forms that could be understood at a glance.
• Distilled Colors: Colors that were recognizable, yet simplified and muted, thus avoiding exaggeration and distractions.
• Iconic Features: Buildings, machines and objects, often presented in an iconic manner, as a way to reflect the spiritualization of the modern world.
• Uncluttered Composition: Compositions that were kept as uncluttered as possible, avoiding conflicts between different elements.
• Combining Abstractions: Combining abstractions with recognizable forms in order to create subtle yet evocative imagery.
Examples of Purism Art
Purism was most notably used by Amédée Ozenfant and Le Corbusier, though it was employed by other artists in the interwar period, such as Fernand Léger and Jacques Villon. Some of the most iconic paintings of the Purism art period are Amédée Ozenfant’s “The Espalier” (1917), Le Corbusier’s “The City” (1922), and Fernand Léger’s “The Mechanic” (1919).
These works show the typical characteristics of Purism, demonstrating the movement’s focus on regular orders, clear forms, distilled colors, iconic features, and uncluttered compositions. They also demonstrate Purism’s aspirations for a universal visual language that could be used to communicate the spiritualization of the modern world.
Influence of Purism in the 21st Century
Today, the artistic principles and the modernist aesthetic that defined the Purism of the 1920s can still be seen in many artworks. In fact, the simplified and abstracted forms of modernist design, which had its seeds in Purism, can be seen in a range of design-led industries, from furniture and architecture to fashion and graphic design.
Purism also had an influence on the Bauhaus movement, which sought to create a total work of art for the new industrialized world. The Bauhaus philosophy, which focused on finding the “form follows function” in design, was heavily inspired by Purism’s simple and ordered forms.
It can be seen from the examples given here that the Purism movement was a highly influential and groundbreaking artistic style, which both challenged traditional art forms and sought to create a new language of visual communication that spoke to the modern world. Its influence can still be seen today in the clear, designed forms of modernist design and in the total works of art that are so highly prized in design-led industries. By embracing simplicity and order, the Purism movement made a lasting contribution to modern art and design.
