purism

purism
purist, n.puristic, puristical, adj.puristically, adv.
/pyoor"iz euhm/, n.
1. strict observance of or insistence on purity in language, style, etc.
2. an instance of this.
3. (often cap.) Fine Arts. a style of art developed in France in the early 20th century, characterized by the use of simple geometric forms and images evocative of objects produced by machine.
[1795-1805; PURE + -ISM]

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art
      in painting, a variant of Cubism developed in France about 1918 by the painter Amédée Ozenfant (Ozenfant, Amédée) and the architect and painter Le Corbusier (Corbusier, Le) (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret).

      Ozenfant and Le Corbusier, critical of what they perceived to be a decorative trend in Cubism, advocated a return to clear, precise, ordered forms that were expressive of the modern machine age. The collaboration of the two artists began with their book, Après le Cubisme (1918; “After Cubism”), and continued with essays published from 1920 to 1925 in their review, L'Esprit Nouveau. In an essay entitled "Purism," Ozenfant and Le Corbusier defined painting as “an association of purified, related, and architectured elements.” This concept is reflected in their still life paintings, in which both artists presented clean, pure, integral forms.

      Le Corbusier's Still Life (1920) is a typical Purist painting. He purified the colour scheme to include only the neutrals—gray, black, and white—and monochromes of green. He applied the paint smoothly to enhance the sense of impersonal objectivity. He also repeated the rhythmic, curving contours of a guitar (a favourite Cubist motif, which the Purists eventually rejected for being too picturesque) in the shoulders of a bottle and in other objects on the table; by tilting the tops of the objects toward the spectator, he gave an added emphasis to their flatness. A motif of circles is echoed in the various openings of the bottles, pipes, and containers. In such works, Le Corbusier and Ozenfant were attempting to create a “symphony of consonant and architectured forms.”

      As a movement in painting, Purism did not have an appreciable following. There were many painters, however, who, like the Purists, were attracted to a machine-inspired aesthetic; most notable were the French painter Fernand Léger (Léger, Fernand) and the American Precisionist (Precisionism) painters of the 1920s.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • purism — PURÍSM s.n. Tendinţă de a elimina dintr o limbă elementele considerate străine de structura ei. – Din fr. purisme. Trimis de oprocopiuc, 27.04.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  purísm s. n. Trimis de siveco, 03.11.2007. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic  PURÍSM n …   Dicționar Român

  • Purism — Pur ism, n. [Cf. F. purisme.] Rigid purity; the quality of being affectedly pure or nice, especially in the choice of language; over solicitude as to purity. His political purism. De Quincey. [1913 Webster] The English language, however, . . .… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • purism — [pyoor′iz΄əm] n. [Fr purisme < pur, PURE] 1. strict observance of or insistence on precise usage or on application of formal, often pedantic rules, as in language, art, etc. 2. an instance of this purist n. puristic adj. puristical… …   English World dictionary

  • Purism — This article is about an art style. There is also another meaning for purism, namely linguistic purism. Purism was a form of Cubism advocated by the French painter Amédée Ozenfant and the architect Charles Edouard Jeanneret (Le Corbusier).… …   Wikipedia

  • purism — noun 1》 scrupulous observance of traditional rules or structures, especially in language or style. 2》 (Purism) an early 20th century artistic style and movement rejecting cubism and emphasizing purity of geometric form and the representation of… …   English new terms dictionary

  • purism — noun Date: 1803 1. an example of rigid adherence to or insistence on purity or nicety especially in use of words; especially a word, phrase, or sense used chiefly by purists 2. the quality or practice of adherence to purity especially in language …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • purism — noun a) An insistence on the traditionally correct way of doing things, especially of language b) An example of purist language etc …   Wiktionary

  • purísm — s. n …   Romanian orthography

  • purism — pur·ism || pjÊŠrɪzm / pjÊŠÉ™ n. strict adherence to purity in behavior (or speech, etc.) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • purism — n. Nicety (in the use of words), fastidiousness, squeamishness, daintiness, euphuism, affected elegance, finical style …   New dictionary of synonyms

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