Stained Glass Effect

The use of thick, dark lines to enclose planes of vivid color. This technique is most closely associated with Cloisonnism, a style of painting that emerged with Post-Impressionism in the 1880s, most prominently in the work of Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin. At this time the style was both radical and nostalgic—it brought together influences from both contemporary Japanese prints as well as Gothic art and architecture, abstracting three-dimensional forms to near-decorative, flat shapes. Its name derives from the historic “cloisonné” enameling technique, in which bands of metal are used to outline areas of uniform color. Today, Julian Opie exploits the potential of thick contour lines to create simplified, graphic compositions.