Dictionary
Tachism
Tachism was a French form of Informel art, which emerged in Paris in the 1940s. The term was based on critics’ observations that the paintings looked as though they consisted of paint stains. The term Tachism was thus based on the French word for stain or spot "tache". Pierre Guégin used the term specifically, when he accused the pictures of being nothing but spots (French: tachisme).
In terms of formal expression and the process of artistic creation, the borders between Informel and Tachism were fluid, and both artistic styles attempted to intuitively transfer the creative power of the artist to the canvas, as part of a spontaneous process. Tachism’s abstract and contourless dynamic expressions were the result of the painterly process. Tachist works were frequently representative. The powerful, gestural brush strokes, smeared colours, frenetic smudges and drops produced the paintings’ meaningful, lyrical and expressive effect. In contrast with Informel artists, the Tachists focussed on the harmonious effect of colour values, in the vein of Lyrical Abstraction.
Surrealist ‘écriture automatique’ and Abstract Expressionism accompanied the development of Tachism, both theoretically and on a practical level. All of these artistic styles aimed to produce a spontaneous and uncontrolled visual expression of the subconscious.
Key Tachist artists included Roger Bissière, Karl Fred Dahmen, Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu, Simon Hantaï, Emil Schumacher and Wols (Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze).
Tachism was a French form of Informel art, which emerged in Paris in the 1940s. The term was based on critics’ observations that the paintings looked as though they consisted of paint stains. The term Tachism was thus based on the French word for stain or spot "tache". Pierre Guégin used the term specifically, when he accused the pictures of being nothing but spots (French: tachisme).
In terms of formal expression and the process of artistic creation, the borders between Informel and Tachism were fluid, and both artistic styles attempted to intuitively transfer the creative power of the artist to the canvas, as part of a spontaneous process. Tachism’s abstract and contourless dynamic expressions were the result of the painterly process. Tachist works were frequently representative. The powerful, gestural brush strokes, smeared colours, frenetic smudges and drops produced the paintings’ meaningful, lyrical and expressive effect. In contrast with Informel artists, the Tachists focussed on the harmonious effect of colour values, in the vein of Lyrical Abstraction.
Surrealist ‘écriture automatique’ and Abstract Expressionism accompanied the development of Tachism, both theoretically and on a practical level. All of these artistic styles aimed to produce a spontaneous and uncontrolled visual expression of the subconscious.
Key Tachist artists included Roger Bissière, Karl Fred Dahmen, Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu, Simon Hantaï, Emil Schumacher and Wols (Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze).
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