ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

How Occultism Shaped Symbolist Art: From Redon to the Nabis and Theosophy

publication · 2026-09-22

During the late 19th century, the rise of alternative religious movements coincided with modernity, impacting Symbolist art. Artists were influenced by occult practices such as theosophy and spiritism, which fostered the belief that art connects subjective experiences with the natural world. Odilon Redon's Closed Eyes (1890) serves as a quintessential example of Symbolist aesthetics, often interpreted through an esoteric lens. Edward Tiryakian observed that occultism intertwined with 19th-century scientific thought and Buddhism. This Occult Modernism also engaged with psychology and social changes. Notable women artists, including Georgiana Houghton and Hilma af Klint, produced abstract works. Founded by Paul Sérusier in 1888, the Nabis viewed artists as clairvoyants, while theosophy, established by Helena Blavatsky in 1875, impacted many, including Kandinsky and Scriabin.

Key facts

  • Odilon Redon's Closed Eyes (1890) became an emblem of Symbolist aesthetics, with Camille Falte transfigured as a 'cosmic sleeper'.
  • Occult movements including theosophy, anthroposophy, and Rosicrucianism revived in the late 19th century alongside modernity and secularization.
  • The Fox Sisters popularized spirit communication through coded raps in 1848, contributing to Mormonism, Millerism, and Seventh-day Adventism.
  • Karl Friedrich Zöllner's 1878 experiments with medium Henry Slade in Leipzig sparked debate over transcendental physics and a fourth spatial dimension.
  • Women artists like Georgiana Houghton, Hilma af Klint, and Hélène Smith created early non-figurative works via automatic painting, later adopted by Surrealists.
  • The Nabis, founded in 1888 by Paul Sérusier, conceived the artist as a clairvoyant priest and included Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard.
  • Joséphin Péladan organized six Salons de la Rose + Croix between 1892 and 1897, promoting Rosicrucianism and Catholic universalism.
  • Theosophy, founded in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky, influenced abstract artists Kandinsky, Kupka, Mondrian, and composer Scriabin.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Musée d'Orsay
  • The National Science and Media Museum
  • Hilma af Klint Foundation
  • The Victorian Web
  • French Theosophical Society
  • Le Lotus Bleu
  • La Revue Blanche
  • Galerie Durand-Ruel
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France
  • Ordre de la Rose-Croix Catholique et Esthétique du Temple et du Graal
  • Order of the Rose-Croix
  • Le Figaro
  • Salon d'Art Idéaliste
  • Theosophical Society
  • Belgian Theosophical Society
  • La lumière
  • White Order
  • Shapiro Auctions
  • Albertina
  • Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique
  • Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo Nacional
  • Finnish National Gallery
  • Académie Julian
  • Durand-Ruel galleries
  • Fourhares
  • The Collector

Locations

  • Paris
  • France
  • Bradford
  • United Kingdom
  • Stockholm
  • Sweden
  • Washington D.C.
  • United States
  • Vienna
  • Austria
  • Brussels
  • Belgium
  • Leipzig
  • Germany
  • Madrid
  • Spain
  • Helsinki
  • Finland
  • India
  • Tahiti
  • Berlin

Sources

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