French term for the improvisatory non-geometric abstract art that developed in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s and was the European equivalent to Abstract Expressionism in America. Tachisme is virtually synonymous with Art Informel (see that for list of artists). The name derives from the French word tache, meaning a stain or splash (e.g. Of paint). The introduction of the term to describe these post-war developments is usually credited to the critic Pierre Guéguen in 1951. However, it was used in 1889 by the critic Félix Fénéon to describe the Impressionist technique, and again in 1909 by the artist Maurice Denis referring to the Fauve painters.