Symbolism: 1885-1910

Symbolism began in France during the 19^th century as a reaction to the Impressionists’ emphasis on naturalism, with artists like Puvis de Chavannes and Eugene Carriere preferring suggestion and ambiguity to the literal depiction of subjects and exact conveyance of meaning. Thus, like the Romantic art period, Symbolism (also known as Synthetism) highlighted feelings and emotions over reason and exact likeness, albeit demonstrating more intellectualism in the concept than the former movement.

The foundations of the movement can be found in literature, following on from poets such as Baudelaire who considered it was possible to convey thoughts and sentiments not simply through the denotation of words, but also through their resonance and cadence. In such a way, every chosen colour or line was deemed to possess the power of expression for the Symbolists – a theory that was also upheld by the Abstract artists of the 20^th century.

Symbols had featured in European art for a considerable length of time, so it is also possible to trace the origins of 19^th century Symbolism to the mystical and visionary works of Fuseli, Goya, Piranesi and Friedrich. Indeed, whilst the Symbolists differed greatly in terms of style, they all shared the same attraction towards the macabre, the mysterious, the erotic and the perverse. Evocative subjects such as death and debauchery were thus expressed through hidden meaning rather than direct analogy.

Leading practitioners were French artists Odilon Redon and Paul Gauguin, Gustave Moreau as well as the Norwegian Edvard Munch, the Austrian Gustav Klimt and the British Aubrey Beardsley.