Symbolism: A Late 19th-Century Art Movement Explained
Symbolism, which emerged in the late 1800s, was a French literary movement that kicked off with Charles Baudelaire's publication of Les Fleurs du mal in 1857. The label "symbolist" was first coined by critic Jean Moréas when he released the Symbolist Manifesto in Le Figaro on September 18, 1886, recognizing Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Paul Verlaine as key figures. Artists like Gustave Moreau and Edvard Munch aimed to express feelings and concepts rather than simply replicate nature. Their works often featured dreamlike scenes with biblical and mythical figures, influenced by Baudelaire’s translations of Edgar Allan Poe. Common themes included love and anguish, with Munch's The Scream symbolizing isolation. Women were depicted as either innocent or treacherous, evident in Moreau's Salome and Klimt's portrayals of Viennese women.
Key facts
- Symbolism was initially a French literary movement originating with Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal (1857).
- Jean Moréas coined the term 'symbolist' and published the Symbolist Manifesto in Le Figaro on 18 September 1886.
- Leading symbolist poets were Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Verlaine.
- Symbolist painters included Moreau, Klimt, Čiurlionis, Malczewski, Redon, Puvis de Chavannes, Munch, and Rops.
- Symbolism aimed to 'clothe the Ideal in a perceptible form' and was hostile to plain meanings and matter-of-fact description.
- Symbolists used mythological and dream imagery, often referencing Edgar Allan Poe.
- Common themes were love, fear, anguish, death, sexual awakening, and unrequited desire.
- Femmes fatales, like Salome and the sphinx, were popular motifs, notably in Moreau's works.
Entities
Artists
- Gustav Klimt
- Charles Baudelaire
- Jean Moréas
- Stéphane Mallarmé
- Paul Verlaine
- Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
- Jacek Malczewski
- Odilon Redon
- Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
- Edvard Munch
- Félicien Rops
- Auguste Rodin
- Gustave Moreau
- Edgar Allan Poe
Institutions
- Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen – Pinakotheken
- Memorial Museum of M. Čiurlionis
- Museum of Modern Art
- Nasjonalmuseet
- Musée d'Orsay
- Le Figaro
Locations
- Munich
- Germany
- Kaunas
- Lithuania
- New York City
- NY
- USA
- Oslo
- Norway
- Paris
- France