Orphism

[ awr-fiz-uhm ]

noun

1. the religious or philosophical system of the Orphic school.
2. (often lowercase) Also called orphic cubism. Fine Arts. a short-lived but influential artistic movement of the early 20th century arising from analytic cubism and the work of Robert Delaunay and having as conspicuous characteristics the use of bold color, the dynamic, prismatic juxtaposition and overlapping of nonobjective geometric forms and planes, and a lightness and lyricism dissociated from its cubist origins.

Orphism

/ ˈɔːfɪzəm /

noun

1. a mystery religion of ancient Greece, widespread from the 6th century bc onwards, combining pre-Hellenic beliefs, the Thracian cult of (Dionysius) Zagreus, etc

Derived Forms

• Orˈphistic, adjective

Other Words From

• Orphist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Orphism¹

Orphism ( def 2 ) < French orphisme, equivalent to Orph ( ée ) Orpheus + -isme -ism; term introduced by G. Apollinaire c1913

Example Sentences

She’s not very well known but she’s the cofounder of Orphism, the art movement derived from Cubism.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet the pair’s claim to have invented their own school of painting was challenged later by other well-known European abstract artists, such as Robert and Sonia Delaunay, who argued that the Americans had copied their own ideas about the use of colour and shape, referred to as orphism.

From The Guardian

Sonia Delaunay, who with her husband, Robert Delaunay, developed this colorful, symphonic sort of abstraction called Orphism, has an interesting history.

From New York Times

After her amicable divorce from Uhde and marriage to French painter Robert Delaunay in November 1910, the Delaunays spearheaded Orphism, an abstract, vibrant, variation of Cubist and Futurist art.

From National Geographic

She and her husband, Robert, founded the Orphism art movement, which incorporated strong colors and geometric shapes in unique juxtaposition.

From Wall Street Journal