English
formalesque
From formal + -esque; coined in 1994 by Australian art historian Bernard Smith, since the period referred to by "modernist" was by then no longer modern.
Formed from formal + -esque
Latin fōrma ‘form’
Latin fōrmālis ‘formal, of form’
Old French formel ‘formal’
Middle English formel
English formal
The story
From formal + -esque; coined in 1994 by Australian art historian Bernard Smith, since the period referred to by "modernist" was by then no longer modern.
Today it means
adj modernist; of the artistic style of the period from around 1890 to 1960
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / formalesque