Symbolism was a late 19th-century

art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defi ...

of French and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. In literature, the style originates with the 1857 publication of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...

's ''

Les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; en, The Flowers of Evil, italic=yes) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First publish ...

''. The works of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

, which Baudelaire admired greatly and translated into French, were a significant influence and the source of many stock tropes and images. The aesthetic was developed by Stéphane Mallarmé and

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

during the 1860s and 1870s. In the 1880s, the aesthetic was articulated by a series of manifestos and attracted a generation of writers. The term "symbolist" was first applied by the critic

Jean Moréas Jean Moréas (; born Ioannis A. Papadiamantopoulos, Ιωάννης Α. Παπαδιαμαντόπουλος; 15 April 1856 – 31 March 1910), was a Greek poet, essayist, and art critic, who wrote mostly in the French language but also in Greek ...

, who invented the term to distinguish the Symbolists from the related Decadents of literature and of art.

Etymology

The term ''symbolism'' is derived from the word "symbol" which derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''symbolum'', a symbol of faith, and ''symbolus'', a sign of recognition, in turn from classical Greek σύμβολον ''symbolon'', an object cut in half constituting a sign of recognition when the carriers were able to reassemble the two-halves. In

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

, the ''symbolon'' was a shard of pottery which was inscribed and then broken into two pieces which were given to the ambassadors from two allied city states as a record of the alliance.

Precursors and origins

Symbolism was largely a reaction against naturalism and realism, anti-idealistic styles which were attempts to represent reality in its gritty particularity, and to elevate the humble and the ordinary over the ideal. Symbolism was a reaction in favour of spirituality, the imagination, and dreams. Some writers, such as

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel '' À rebour ...

, began as naturalists before becoming symbolists; for Huysmans, this change represented his increasing interest in religion and spirituality. Certain of the characteristic subjects of the Decadents represent naturalist interest in sexuality and taboo topics, but in their case this was mixed with

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

and the world-weariness characteristic of the ''

fin de siècle () is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context, ...

'' period. The Symbolist poets have a more complex relationship with Parnassianism, a French literary style that immediately preceded it. While being influenced by

hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are containe ...

, allowing freer versification, and rejecting Parnassian clarity and objectivity, it retained Parnassianism's love of

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, pho ...

and concern for the musical qualities of verse. The Symbolists continued to admire

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

's motto of "

art for art's sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of ''l'art pour l'art'' (), a French slogan from the latter part of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only 'true' art, is divorce ...

", and retained – and modified – Parnassianism's mood of ironic detachment. Many Symbolist poets, including Stéphane Mallarmé and

, published early works in ''

Le Parnasse contemporain Le Parnasse contemporain ("The Contemporary Parnassus", e.g., the contemporary poetry scene) is composed of three volumes of poetry collections, published in 1866, 1871 and 1876 by the editor Alphonse Lemerre, which included a hundred French poets ...

'', the poetry anthologies that gave Parnassianism its name. But

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

publicly mocked prominent Parnassians and published scatological parodies of some of their main authors, including

François Coppée François Edouard Joachim Coppée (26 January 1842 – 23 May 1908) was a French poet and novelist. Biography Coppée was born in Paris to a civil servant. After attending the Lycée Saint-Louis he became a clerk in the ministry of war and won ...

– misattributed to Coppée himself – in '' L'Album zutique''. One of Symbolism's most colourful promoters in Paris was art and literary critic (and occultist) Joséphin Péladan, who established the

Salon de la Rose + Croix Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

. The Salon hosted a series of six presentations of avant-garde art, writing and music during the 1890s, to give a presentation space for artists embracing spiritualism, mysticism, and idealism in their work. A number of Symbolists were associated with the Salon.

Movement

The Symbolist Manifesto

Henri Fantin-Latour - By the Table - Google Art Project

published the Symbolist Manifesto ("Le Symbolisme") in ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'' on 18 September 1886 (see 1886 in poetry).Jean Moréas, ''Un Manifeste littéraire'', ''Le Symbolisme'', Le Figaro. Supplément Littéraire, No. 38, Saturday 18 September 1886, p. 150
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica The Symbolist Manifesto names

, Stéphane Mallarmé, and

as the three leading poets of the movement. Moréas announced that symbolism was hostile to "plain meanings, declamations, false sentimentality and matter-of-fact description", and that its goal instead was to "clothe the Ideal in a perceptible form" whose "goal was not in itself, but whose sole purpose was to express the Ideal." :''Ainsi, dans cet art, les tableaux de la nature, les actions des humains, tous les phénomènes concrets ne sauraient se manifester eux-mêmes; ce sont là des apparences sensibles destinées à représenter leurs affinités ésotériques avec des Idées primordiales.'' :(Thus, in this art movement, representations of nature, human activities and all real life events don't stand on their own; they are rather veiled reflections of the senses pointing to archetypal meanings through their esoteric connections.) In a nutshell, as Mallarmé writes in a letter to his friend Henri Cazalis, 'to depict not the thing but the effect it produces'.

Techniques

The symbolist poets wished to liberate techniques of versification in order to allow greater room for "fluidity", and as such were sympathetic with the trend toward

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French '' vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Defi ...

, as evident in the poems of

Gustave Kahn Gustave Kahn (21 December 1859, in Metz – 5 September 1936, in Paris) was a French Symbolist poet and art critic. He was also active, via publishing and essay-writing, in defining Symbolism and distinguishing it from the Decadent Movement. P ...

and Ezra Pound. Symbolist poems were attempts to evoke, rather than primarily to describe; symbolic imagery was used to signify the state of the poet's

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

. T. S. Eliot was influenced by the poets

Jules Laforgue Jules Laforgue (; 16 August 1860 – 20 August 1887) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbol ...

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...

and

who used the techniques of the Symbolist school, though it has also been said that '

Imagism Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized modernist literary movement in the English language. Imagism is someti ...

' was the style to which both Pound and Eliot subscribed (see Pound's ''Des Imagistes''). Synesthesia was a prized experience; poets sought to identify and confound the separate senses of scent, sound, and colour. In Baudelaire's poem ''Correspondences'' (which mentions ''forêts de symboles'' ("forests of symbols") and is considered the touchstone of French Symbolism): :''Il est des parfums frais comme des chairs d'enfants,
Doux comme les hautbois, verts comme les prairies,
– Et d'autres, corrompus, riches et triomphants,

Ayant l'expansion des choses infinies,
Comme l'ambre, le musc, le benjoin et l'encens,
Qui chantent les transports de l'esprit et des sens.'' ::(There are smells that are fresh like children's skin,
calm like oboes, green like meadows
– And others, rotten, heady, and triumphant,

having the expansiveness of infinite things,
like amber, musk, benzoin, and incense,
which sing of the raptures of the soul and senses.) and

Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

's poem ''

Voyelles "Voyelles" or "Vowels" is a sonnet in alexandrines by Arthur Rimbaud, written in 1871 but first published in 1883. Its theme is the different characters of the vowels, which it associates with those of colours. It has become one of the most st ...

'': :''A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu : voyelles…'' ::(A black, E white, I red, U green, O blue: vowels…) – both poets seek to identify one sense experience with another. The earlier

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

of poetry used symbols, but these symbols were unique and privileged objects. The symbolists were more extreme, investing all things, even vowels and perfumes, with potential symbolic value. "The physical universe, then, is a kind of language that invites a privileged spectator to decipher it, although this does not yield a single message so much as a superior network of associations." Symbolist symbols are not

allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

, intended to represent; they are instead intended to

evoke Evoke may refer to: * Evocation, the act of calling upon or summoning a spirit, demon, deity or other supernatural agent * E'voke, a British female vocal duo * ''Evoke'' (album), a 2005 electro-industrial album by Wumpscut * Evoke Motorcycles, a ...

particular states of mind. The nominal subject of Mallarmé's "Le cygne" ("The Swan") is of a swan trapped in a frozen lake. Significantly, in French, '' cygne'' is a homophone of '' signe'', a sign. The overall effect is of overwhelming whiteness; and the presentation of the narrative elements of the description is quite indirect: :''Le vierge, le vivace, et le bel aujourd'hui
Va-t-il nous déchirer avec un coup d’aile ivre
Ce lac dur oublié que hante sous le givre
Le transparent glacier des vols qui n’ont pas fui!
Un cygne d’autrefois se souvient que c’est lui
Magnifique mais qui sans espoir se délivre…'' ::(The virgin, lively, and beautiful today – will it tear us up with a drunken wingbeat this hard forgotten lake that lurks beneath the frost, the transparent glacier of flights not taken with a blow from a drunken wing? A swan of long ago remembers that it is he, magnificent but without hope, who breaks free…)

Paul Verlaine and the ''poètes maudits''

Of the several attempts at defining the essence of symbolism, perhaps none was more influential than

's 1884 publication of a series of essays on

Tristan Corbière Tristan Corbière (18 July 1845 – 1 March 1875), born Édouard-Joachim Corbière, was a French poet born in Coat-Congar, Ploujean (now part of Morlaix) in Brittany, where he lived most of his life before dying of tuberculosis at the age of 29 ...

, Stéphane Mallarmé,

Marceline Desbordes-Valmore Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (20 June 1786 – 23 July 1859) was a French poet and novelist. She was born in Douai. Following the French Revolution, her father's business was ruined, and she traveled with her mother to Guadeloupe in search of fi ...

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

, and "Pauvre Lelian" ("Poor Lelian", an anagram of Paul Verlaine's own name), each of whom Verlaine numbered among the '' poètes maudits'', "accursed poets." Eugen Bracht - Das Gestade der Vergessenheit (1889)

Eugen Bracht - Das Gestade der Vergessenheit (1889)

Verlaine argued that in their individual and very different ways, each of these hitherto neglected poets found

genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...

a curse; it isolated them from their contemporaries, and as a result these poets were not at all concerned to avoid

and idiosyncratic writing styles. They were also portrayed as at odds with society, having tragic lives, and often given to self-destructive tendencies. These traits were not hindrances but consequences of their literary gifts. Verlaine's concept of the ''poète maudit'' in turn borrows from Baudelaire, who opened his collection ''

Les fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; en, The Flowers of Evil, italic=yes) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First publish ...

'' with the poem '' Bénédiction'', which describes a poet whose internal serenity remains undisturbed by the contempt of the people surrounding him. In this conception of genius and the role of the poet, Verlaine referred indirectly to the

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

of Arthur Schopenhauer, the philosopher of

pessimism Pessimism is a negative mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is " Is the glass half emp ...

, who maintained that the purpose of art was to provide a temporary refuge from the world of strife of the will.Delvaille, Bernard, ''La poésie symboliste: anthologie'', introduction.

Philosophy

Schopenhauer's aesthetics represented shared concerns with the symbolist programme; they both tended to consider Art as a contemplative refuge from the world of strife and will. As a result of this desire for an artistic refuge, the symbolists used characteristic themes of

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

and otherworldliness, a keen sense of mortality, and a sense of the malign power of sexuality, which

Albert Samain Albert Victor Samain (3 April 185818 August 1900) was a French poet and writer of the Symbolist school. Life and works Born in Lille, his family were Flemish and had long lived in the town or its suburbs. At the time of the poet's birth, his fat ...

termed a "fruit of death upon the tree of life." Mallarmé's poem ''Les fenêtres'' expresses all of these themes clearly. A dying man in a hospital bed, seeking escape from the pain and dreariness of his physical surroundings, turns toward his window but then turns away in disgust from Félicien Rops - Pornokratès - 1878 (2)

:''… l'homme à l'âme dure
Vautré dans le bonheur, où ses seuls appétits
Mangent, et qui s'entête à chercher cette ordure
Pour l'offrir à la femme allaitant ses petits, …'' ::(… the hard-souled man,
Wallowing in happiness, where only his appetites
Feed, and who insists on seeking out this filth
To offer to the wife suckling his children, …) and in contrast, he "turns his back on life" (''tourne l’épaule à la vie'') and he exclaims: :''Je me mire et me vois ange! Et je meurs, et j'aime
– Que la vitre soit l'art, soit la mysticité –
A renaître, portant mon rêve en diadème,
Au ciel antérieur où fleurit la Beauté!'' ::(I look at myself and I seem like an angel! and I die, and I love
– Whether the mirror might be art, or mysticism –
To be reborn, bearing my dream as a crown,
Under that former sky where Beauty flourishes!)

Symbolists and decadents

The symbolist style has frequently been confused with the

Decadent movement The Decadent movement (Fr. ''décadence'', “decay”) was a late-19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. The Decadent movement first flourishe ...

, the name derived from French literary critics in the 1880s, suggesting the writers were self indulgent and obsessed with taboo subjects. While a few writers embraced the term, most avoided it. Jean Moréas' manifesto was largely a response to this polemic. By the late 1880s, the terms "symbolism" and "decadence" were understood to be almost synonymous. Though the aesthetics of the styles can be considered similar in some ways, the two remain distinct. The symbolists were those artists who emphasized dreams and ideals; the Decadents cultivated ''

précieux Précieux () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population Personalities Benoît Malon (1841 - 1893), politician, journalist was born in Précieux. See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of ...

'', ornamented, or

hermetic Hermetic or related forms may refer to: * of or related to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes * of or related to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Hellenistic figure based on the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth ** , the ancient and m ...

styles, and

morbid A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

subject matters. The subject of the decadence of the Roman Empire was a frequent source of literary images and appears in the works of many poets of the period, regardless of which name they chose for their style, as in Verlaine's "''Langueur''": :''Je suis l'Empire à la fin de la Décadence,
Qui regarde passer les grands Barbares blancs
En composant des acrostiches indolents
D'un style d'or où la langueur du soleil danse.'' ::(I am the Empire at the endgame of decadence, watching the great pale barbarians passing by, all the while composing lazy acrostic poems in a gilded style where the languishing sun dances.)

Periodical literature

A number of important literary publications were founded by symbolists or became associated with the style. The first was '' La Vogue'' initiated in April 1886. In October of that same year,

, and Paul Adam began the periodical '' Le Symboliste''. One of the most important symbolist journals was ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published ...

'', edited by

Alfred Vallette Alfred Vallette (1858, Paris – 1935) was a French man of letters. He founded (in 1890) and edited the ''Mercure de France'', a Symbolist review publication. His wife, Rachilde Rachilde was the pen name and preferred identity of novelist a ...

, which succeeded ''La Pléiade''; founded in 1890, this periodical endured until 1965.

Pierre Louÿs Pierre Louÿs (; 10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". ...

initiated '' La conque'', a periodical whose symbolist influences were alluded to by

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

in his story ''

Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote "Pierre Menard, Author of the ''Quixote''" (original Spanish title: "Pierre Menard, autor del ''Quijote''") is a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It originally appeared in Spanish in the Argentine journal '' Sur'' in May 1939. ...

''. Other symbolist literary magazines included ''

La Revue blanche ''La Revue blanche'' was a French art and literary magazine run between 1889 and 1903. Some of the greatest writers and artists of the time were its collaborators. History The ''Revue blanche'' was founded in Liège in 1889 and run by the Natans ...

'', ''

La Revue wagnérienne ''La Revue wagnérienne'' was a French magazine covering the artistic and philosophical ideas of German composer Richard Wagner based in Paris, France. It was established by Édouard Dujardin, Téodor de Wyzewa, and Houston Stewart Chamberlain ...

'', ''

La Plume ''La Plume'' was a French bi-monthly literary and artistic review. The magazine was set up in 1889 by Léon Deschamps, who edited it for ten years and was succeeded as editor by Karl Boès from 1899 to 1914. Its offices were at number 31 rue Bo ...

'' and ''

La Wallonie ''La Wallonie'' was a cultural review, founded by Albert Mockel, that was published in Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of ...

''.

Rémy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French Symbolism (arts), symbolist poet, novelist, and influential literary criticism, critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Ba ...

and

Félix Fénéon Félix Fénéon (; 22 June 1861 – 29 February 1944) was a French art critic, gallery director, writer and anarchist during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He coined the term ''Neo-Impressionism'' in 1886 to identify a group of a ...

were

literary critics Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis, philosophical discussion of literature' ...

associated with symbolism. The symbolist and decadent literary styles were

satirized Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

by a book of poetry, ''Les Déliquescences d'

Adoré Floupette Adoré Floupette is the collective pseudonym of French authors Henri Beauclair and Gabriel Vicaire used for their 1885 literary spoof titled ''Les Déliquescences d'Adoré Floupette'', a collection of poems satirising French symbolism and the Dec ...

'', published in 1885 by Henri Beauclair and Gabriel Vicaire.

In other media

Visual arts

Symbolism in literature is distinct from symbolism in art although the two were similar in many aspects. In painting, symbolism can be seen as a revival of some mystical tendencies in the Romantic tradition, and was close to the self-consciously morbid and private

decadent movement The Decadent movement (Fr. ''décadence'', “decay”) was a late-19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. The Decadent movement first flourishe ...

. There were several rather dissimilar groups of Symbolist painters and visual artists, which included

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism.' ...

, Gustav Klimt,

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis ( pl, Mikołaj Konstanty Czurlanis – ) was a Lithuanian painter, composer and writer. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. He has been ...

, Jacek Malczewski, Odilon Redon,

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux ...

Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Biography He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-La ...

, Gaston Bussière, Edvard Munch, Fernand Khnopff,

Félicien Rops Félicien Victor Joseph Rops (7 July 1833 – 23 August 1898) was a Belgian artist associated with Symbolism and the Parisian Fin-de Siecle. He was a painter, illustrator, caricaturist and a prolific and innovative print maker, particularly in ...

, and Jan Toorop. Symbolism in painting was even more widespread geographically than symbolism in poetry, affecting

Mikhail Vrubel Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel (russian: Михаил Александрович Врубель; March 17, 1856 – April 14, 1910, all n.s.) was a Russian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. A prolific and innovative master in various med ...

Nicholas Roerich Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (russian: link=no, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophi ...

Victor Borisov-Musatov Victor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov (russian: Ви́ктор Эльпидифо́рович Бори́сов-Муса́тов), ( – ) was a Russian painter, prominent for his unique Post-Impressionistic style that mixed Symbolism, pure d ...

Martiros Saryan Martiros Saryan ( hy, Մարտիրոս Սարյան; russian: Мартиро́с Сарья́н; – 5 May 1972) was a Soviet Armenian painter, the founder of a modern Armenian national school of painting. Biography He was born into an Armenia ...

Mikhail Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Не́стеров; – 18 October 1942) was a Russian and Soviet painter; associated with the Peredvizhniki and Mir Iskusstva. He was one of the first exponents of ...

, Léon Bakst,

Elena Gorokhova Elena Konstantinovna Gorokhova (russian: link=no, Еле́на Константи́новна Горо́хова; 19 February 1933 – 15 January 2014) was a Russian painter, living and working in Saint Petersburg, regarded as one of representat ...

in Russia, as well as Frida Kahlo in Mexico,

Elihu Vedder Elihu Vedder (February 26, 1836January 29, 1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet, born in New York City. He is best known for his fifty-five illustrations for Edward FitzGerald's translation of ''The Rubaiyat of Om ...

Remedios Varo María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga (16 December 1908 – 8 October 1963) was a Spanish-born Mexican surrealist artist working in Spain, France, and Mexico. Early life Remedios Varo Uranga was born in Anglès, is a small town ...

Morris Graves Morris Graves (August 28, 1910 – May 5, 2001) was an American painter. He was one of the earliest Modern artists from the Pacific Northwest to achieve national and international acclaim. His style, referred to by some reviewers as Mysticism, ...

and David Chetlahe Paladin in the United States. Auguste Rodin is sometimes considered a symbolist sculptor. The symbolist painters used mythological and dream imagery. The symbols used by symbolism are not the familiar

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

s of mainstream iconography but intensely personal, private, obscure and ambiguous references. More a philosophy than an actual style of art, symbolism in painting influenced the contemporary Art Nouveau style and Les Nabis.

Music

Symbolism had some influence on music as well. Many symbolist writers and critics were early enthusiasts of the music of Richard Wagner, an avid reader of Schopenhauer. Waterhouse, John William - Saint Cecilia - 1895

Waterhouse, John William - Saint Cecilia - 1895

The symbolist aesthetic affected the works of Claude Debussy. His choices of ''

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...

'', texts, and themes come almost exclusively from the symbolist canon. Compositions such as his settings of ''

Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire The ''Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire'' ( L 64) constitute a song cycle for voice and piano by Claude Debussy, on poems taken from ''Les Fleurs du mal'' by Charles Baudelaire. Composed from December 1887 to March 1889, these five highly deve ...

'', various art songs on poems by Verlaine, the opera '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' with a libretto by

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

, and his unfinished sketches that illustrate two Poe stories, '' The Devil in the Belfry'' and ''

The Fall of the House of Usher "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'', then included in the collection ''Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'' in 1840. The short story ...

'', all indicate that Debussy was profoundly influenced by symbolist themes and tastes. His best known work, the ''

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune ''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' ( L. 86), known in English as ''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'', is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed ...

'', was inspired by Mallarmé's poem, '' L'après-midi d'un faune''. The symbolist aesthetic also influenced Aleksandr Scriabin's compositions. Arnold Schoenberg's ''

Pierrot Lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a m ...

'' takes its text from German translations of the symbolist poems by

Albert Giraud Albert Giraud (; 23 June 1860 – 26 December 1929) was a Belgian poet who wrote in French. Biography Giraud was born Emile Albert Kayenbergh in Leuven, Belgium. He studied law at the University of Leuven. He left university without a deg ...

, showing an association between German expressionism and symbolism. Richard Strauss's 1905 opera '' Salomé'', based on the play by Oscar Wilde, uses a subject frequently depicted by symbolist artists.

Prose fiction

Symbolism's style of the

static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

and hieratic adapted less well to narrative fiction than it did to poetry.

' 1884 novel ''

À rebours ''À rebours'' (; translated ''Against Nature'' or ''Against the Grain'') is an 1884 novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans. The narrative centers on a single character: Jean des Esseintes, an eccentric, reclusive, ailing aesthete. The ...

'' (English title: ''Against Nature'' or ''Against the Grain'') explored many themes that became associated with the symbolist aesthetic. This novel, in which very little happens, catalogues the psychology of Des Esseintes, an eccentric, reclusive

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

. Oscar Wilde was influenced by the novel as he wrote '' Salome'', and Huysman's book appears in ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

'': the titular character becomes corrupted after reading the book. Paul Adam was the most prolific and representative author of symbolist novels. ''Les Demoiselles Goubert'' (1886), co-written with

, is an important transitional work between naturalism and symbolism. Few symbolists used this form. One exception was

, who published ''Le Roi fou'' in 1896. In 1892, Georges Rodenbach wrote the short novel '' Bruges-la-morte'', set in the Flemish town of

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

, which Rodenbach described as a dying, medieval city of mourning and quiet contemplation: in a typically symbolist juxtaposition, the dead city contrasts with the diabolical re-awakening of sexual desire. The cynical, misanthropic, misogynistic fiction of

Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anythin ...

is sometimes considered symbolist, as well. Gabriele d'Annunzio wrote his first novels in the symbolist manner.

Theatre

The characteristic emphasis on an internal life of dreams and fantasies have made symbolist theatre difficult to reconcile with more recent trends. Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's drama ''

Axël ''Axël'' is a drama by French writer Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, published in 1890. It was influenced by his participation in the Paris Commune, the Gnostic philosophy of Hegel as well as the works of Goethe and Victor Hugo. It begins in an ...

'' (rev. ed. 1890) is a definitive symbolist play. In it, two

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...

aristocrats become enamored of each other while trying to kill each other, only to agree to commit suicide mutually because nothing in life could equal their fantasies. From this play,

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...

adopted the title ''Axel's Castle'' for his influential study of the symbolist literary aftermath.

, also a symbolist playwright, wrote ''

The Blind ''The Blind'' (french: Les aveugles), also known as ''The Sightless'', is a play that was written in 1890 by the Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. Information It is an intense one-act play, which was one of the pieces mentioned in a list o ...

'' (1890), ''The Intruder'' (1890), ''Interior'' (1891), ''

Pelléas and Mélisande ''Pelléas and Mélisande'' (french: Pelléas et Mélisande) is a Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck about the forbidden, doomed love of the title characters. It was first performed in 1893. The work never achieved great success on the stage, a ...

'' (1892), and '' The Blue Bird'' (1908).

Eugénio de Castro Eugénio de Castro e Almeida (March 4, 1869 in Coimbra, Portugal – August 17, 1944) was a Portugal, Portuguese writing, writer and a poetry, poet. He was a professor at the Faculty of Letters at the University of Coimbra and attended Escol ...

is considered one of the introducers of Symbolism in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

. He wrote ''Belkiss'', "dramatic prose-poem" as he called it, about the doomed passion of Belkiss,

The Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

, to Solomon, depicting in an avant-garde and violent style the psychological tension and recreating very accurately the tenth century BC Israel. He also wrote ''King Galaor'' and ''Polycrates' Ring'', being one of the most prolific Symbolist theoriticians.

Lugné-Poe Aurélien-Marie Lugné (27 December 1869 19 June 1940), known by his stage and pen name Lugné-Poe, was a French actor, theatre director, and scenic designer. He founded the landmark Paris theatre company, the Théâtre de l'Œuvre, which produce ...

(1869–1940) was an actor, director, and theatre producer of the late nineteenth century. Lugné-Poe "sought to create a unified nonrealistic theatre of poetry and dreams through atmospheric staging and stylized acting". Upon learning about symbolist theatre, he never wanted to practice any other form. After beginning as an actor in the

Théâtre Libre The Théâtre Libre (French for "Free Theatre") was a theatre company that operated from 1887 to 1896 in Paris, France. Origins and History Théâtre Libre was founded on 30 March 1887 by André Antoine. The primary goal of the theatre was ...

and Théâtre d'Art, Lugné-Poe grasped on to the symbolist movement and founded the

Théâtre de l'Œuvre The Théâtre de l'Œuvre is a Paris theatre on the Right Bank, located at 3, Cité Monthiers, entrance 55, rue de Clichy, in the 9° arrondissement. It is commonly conflated and confused with the late-nineteenth-century theater company named Th� ...

where he was manager from 1892 until 1929. Some of his greatest successes include opening his own symbolist theatre, producing the first staging of Alfred Jarry's ''

Ubu Roi ''Ubu Roi'' (; "Ubu the King" or "King Ubu") is a play by French writer Alfred Jarry, then 23 years old. It was first performed in Paris in 1896, by Aurélien Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre at the Nouveau-Théâtre (today, the Théâtre de ...

'' (1896), and introducing French theatregoers to playwrights such as Ibsen and

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

. The later works of the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov have been identified by essayist Paul Schmidt as being much influenced by symbolist pessimism. Both Konstantin Stanislavski and

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...

experimented with symbolist modes of staging in their theatrical endeavors. Drama by symbolist authors formed an important part of the repertoire of the ''

'' and the '' Théâtre d'Art''.

Effect

Among English-speaking artists, the closest counterpart to symbolism was

aestheticism Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pro ...

. The

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

s were contemporaries of the earlier symbolists, and have much in common with them. Symbolism had a significant influence on

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

(

Remy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling ''Rémy'' de Gour ...

considered the Imagists were its descendants) and its traces can also be detected in the work of many modernist poets, including T. S. Eliot,

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

Conrad Aiken Conrad Potter Aiken (August 5, 1889 – August 17, 1973) was an American writer and poet, honored with a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award, and was United States Poet Laureate from 1950 to 1952. His published works include poetry, short ...

, Hart Crane, and

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

in the anglophone tradition and

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

in Hispanic literature. The early poems of

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

have strong affinities with symbolism. Early Portuguese Modernism was heavily influenced by Symbolist poets, especially Camilo Pessanha;

Fernando Pessoa Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher, described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and ...

had many affinities to Symbolism, such as mysticism, musical versification, subjectivism and transcendentalism.

's 1931 study ''Axel's Castle'' focuses on the continuity with symbolism and several important writers of the early twentieth century, with a particular emphasis on Yeats, Eliot,

, Marcel Proust,

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, and

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

. Wilson concluded that the symbolists represented a dreaming retreat into

things that are dying–the whole belle-lettristic tradition of Renaissance culture perhaps, compelled to specialize more and more, more and more driven in on itself, as industrialism and democratic education have come to press it closer and closer.''

After the beginning of the 20th century, symbolism had a major effect on

Russian poetry This is a list of authors who have written poetry in the Russian language. Alphabetical list A B C D E F G I K L M N O P R S T U V Y Z Sources See also * List of Russian archite ...

even as it became less popular in France. Russian symbolism, steeped in the doctrines of

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

and the spiritual ideas of Vladimir Solovyov, had little in common with the French style of the same name. It began the careers of several major poets such as

Alexander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...

Andrei Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр� ...

, and

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (russian: Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈtaɪvə; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russia ...

. Bely's novel ''Petersburg'' (1912) is considered the greatest example of Russian symbolist prose. Primary influences on the style of

Russian Symbolism Russian symbolism was an intellectual and artistic movement predominant at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It arose separately from European symbolism, emphasizing mysticism and ostranenie. Literature Influences Primary ...

were the irrationalistic and

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

poetry and philosophy of Fyodor Tyutchev and Solovyov, the novels of

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

, the operas of Richard Wagner, the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

, French symbolist and decadent poets (such as Stéphane Mallarmé,

and

), and the dramas of Henrik Ibsen. The style was largely inaugurated by

Nikolai Minsky Nikolai Minsky and Nikolai Maksimovich Minsky (russian: Никола́й Макси́мович Ми́нский) are pseudonyms of Nikolai Maksimovich Vilenkin (Виле́нкин; 1855–1937), a mystical writer and poet of the Silver Age of R ...

's article ''The Ancient Debate'' (1884) and

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, ...

's book ''On the Causes of the Decline and on the New Trends in Contemporary Russian Literature'' (1892). Both writers promoted extreme

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...

and the act of creation. Merezhkovsky was known for his poetry as well as a series of novels on ''god-men'', among whom he counted Christ,

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, and (later)

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. His wife,

Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (Hippius) (; – 9 September 1945) was a Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. The story of her marriage to Dmitry Merezhkovsky, which laste ...

, also a major poet of early symbolism, opened a salon in St Petersburg, which came to be known as the "headquarters of Russian decadence".

Petersburg (novel) ''Petersburg'' (russian: Петербург, ''Peterbúrg'') is a novel by Russian writer Andrei Bely. A Symbolist work, it has been compared to other "city novels" like '' Ulysses'' and '' Berlin Alexanderplatz''.Nabokov, ''Russian Writers, Ce ...

a portrait of the social strata of the Russian capital, is frequently cited as a late example of Symbolism in 20th century Russian literature. In

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, symbolists directly influenced by French poetry first gained influence during the 1880s, when

Alexandru Macedonski Alexandru Macedonski (; also rendered as Al. A. Macedonski, Macedonschi or Macedonsky; 14 March 1854 – 24 November 1920) was a Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism in h ...

reunited a group of young poets associated with his magazine '' Literatorul''. Polemicizing with the established ''

Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost pers ...

'' and overshadowed by the influence of

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active memb ...

, Romanian symbolism was recovered as an inspiration during and after the 1910s, when it was exampled by the works of

Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', th ...

Ion Minulescu Ion Minulescu (; 6 January 1881 – 11 April 1944) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, literary critic, and playwright. Often publishing his works under the pseudonyms I. M. Nirvan and Koh-i-Noor (the latte ...

George Bacovia George Bacovia (; the pen name of Gheorghe Vasiliu ; – 22 May 1957) was a Romanian symbolist poet. While he initially belonged to the local Symbolist movement, launched as a poet by Alexandru Macedonski with the poem and poetry collection ( ...

, Mateiu Caragiale,

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

and

Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Romanian literature and art. He was m ...

, and praised by the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

magazine ''

Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian modernist literary magazine and literary society, established in Bucharest in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in Romanian literature, ranging from a ...

''. The symbolist painters were an important influence on expressionism and surrealism in painting, two movements which descend directly from symbolism proper. The

harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the '' zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian '' commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditional ...

s, paupers, and clowns of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

's " Blue Period" show the influence of symbolism, and especially of

Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Bea ...

. In Belgium, symbolism became so popular that it came to be known as a national style, particularly in landscape painting: the static strangeness of painters like

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bound ...

can be considered as a direct continuation of symbolism. The work of some symbolist visual artists, such as Jan Toorop, directly affected the curvilinear forms of art nouveau. Many early motion pictures also employ symbolist visual imagery and themes in their staging, set designs, and imagery. The films of

German expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

owe a great deal to symbolist imagery. The virginal "good girls" seen in the cinema of D. W. Griffith, and the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

"bad girls" portrayed by

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

, both show the continuing influence of symbolism, as do the Babylonian scenes from Griffith's ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...

''. Symbolist imagery lived on longest in horror film: as late as 1932, Carl Theodor Dreyer's ''

Vampyr ''Vampyr'' (german: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Gray, lit=Vampyr: The Dream of Allan Gray) is a 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. She ...

'' showed the obvious influence of symbolist imagery; parts of the film resemble ''tableau vivant'' re-creations of the early paintings of Edvard Munch.

Symbolists

Precursors

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

(1757–1827) English poet and artist (''

Songs of Innocence ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he bound these poems with a ...

'') * Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) German painter (''

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog ''Wanderer above the Sea of Fog'' is a painting by German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich made in 1818. It depicts a man standing upon a rocky precipice with his back to the viewer; he is gazing out on a landscape covered in a thick sea of ...

'') *

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

(1795–1881) Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher (''

Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is an 1831 novel by the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 – Augus ...

'') *

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

(1799–1837) Russian poet and writer (''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

'') *

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

(1803–1870) French novelist *

Đorđe Marković Koder Đorđe Marković Koder ( Cyrillic: Ђорђе Марковић Кодер) (1806 – April 30, 1891) was a Serbian poet born in Austrian Empire. Misunderstood, largely forgotten and often considered a marginal figure in Serbian poetry, criticize ...

(1806–1891) Serbian poet (''Romoranka'') *

(1808–1855) French poet *

Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anythin ...

(1808–1889) French writer *

(1809–1849) American poet and writer (''

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'' (1838) is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the ''Grampus' ...

'') *

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

(1814–1841) Russian poet and writer (''

A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

'') *

(1821–1867) French poet (''

'') *

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

(1821–1880) French writer (''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emp ...

'') *

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

(1828–1882) English poet and painter (''

Beata Beatrix ''Beata Beatrix'' is a painting completed in several versions by Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The painting depicts Beatrice Portinari from Dante Alighieri's 1294 poem '' La Vita Nuova'' at the moment of her death. The first vers ...

'') *

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

(1830–1894) English poet

Authors

Armenian * Misak Metsarents (1886–1908) * Levon Shant (1869–1951) *

Siamanto Atom Yarchanian ( hy, Ատոմ Եարճանեան), better known by his pen name Siamanto (Սիամանթօ) (15 August 1878 – August 1915), was an influential Armenian writer, poet and national figure from the late 19th century and early 20th ...

(1878–1915) *

Daniel Varujan Daniel Varoujan ( hy, Դանիէլ Վարուժան, 20 April 188426 August 1915) was an Armenian poet of the early 20th century. At the age of 31, when he was reaching international stature, he was deported and murdered by the Young Turk gover ...

(1884–1915) *

Gostan Zarian Gostan, Constant, or Kostan Zarian ( hy, Կոստան Զարեան; February 2, 1885 – December 11, 1969) was an Armenian writer who produced short lyric poems, long narrative poems of an epic cast, manifestos, essays, travel impressions, criti ...

( 1885–1969) Belgian *

(1860–1929) *

Charles van Lerberghe Charles van Lerberghe (21 October 1861 – 26 October 1907) was a Belgian author who wrote in French and was particularly identified with the symbolist movement. The growing atheism and anticlerical stance evident in his later work made it popula ...

(1861-1907) *

(1862–1949) *

Albert Mockel Albert Mockel (27 December 1866 – 30 January 1945) was a Belgian Symbolist poet. Born in Ougrée, he was the editor of '' La Wallonie'', an influential journal of Belgian, and even European, Symbolism. He died in January 1945 in Ixelles ...

(1866–1945) * Georges Rodenbach (1855–1898) *

Emile Verhaeren Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

(1855–1916) Dutch *

Marcellus Emants Marcellus Emants (12 August 1848 – 14 October 1923) was a Dutch novelist whose work is considered one of the few examples of Dutch Naturalism. His writing is seen as a first step towards the renewing force of the Tachtigers towards modern Du ...

(1848-1923) *

Louis Couperus Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (10 June 1863 – 16 July 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet. His oeuvre contains a wide variety of genres: lyric poetry, psychological and historical novels, novellas, short stories, fairy tales, feuilletons and s ...

(1863–1923) * J. H. Leopold (1865–1925) English *

Edmund Gosse Sir Edmund William Gosse (; 21 September 184916 May 1928) was an English poet, author and critic. He was strictly brought up in a small Protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren, but broke away sharply from that faith. His account of his childhoo ...

(1849–1928) *

William Ernest Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the o ...

(1849–1903) * Arthur Symons (1865–1945) *

Renée Vivien Renée Vivien (born Pauline Mary Tarn; 11 June 1877 – 18 November 1909) was a British poet who wrote in French, in the style of the Symbolistes and the Parnassiens. A high-profile lesbian in the Paris of the Belle Époque, she is notable for he ...

(1877–1909) French * Paul Adam (1862–1920) *

Albert Aurier Gabriel-Albert Aurier (5 May 1865 – 5 October 1892) was a French poet, art critic and painter, associated with the Symbolist movement. Career The son of a notary born in Châteauroux, Indre, Aurier went to Paris in 1883 to study law, but hi ...

(1865–1892) *

Léon Bloy Léon Bloy (; 11 July 1846 – 3 November 1917) was a French Catholic novelist, essayist, pamphleteer (or lampoonist), and satirist, known additionally for his eventual (and passionate) defense of Catholicism and for his influence within French C ...

(1846–1917) * Early

Henri Barbusse Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein. Life The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...

(1873–1935) * Henri Cazalis (1840–1909) *

Georges Duhamel Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...

(1884–1966) *

Paul Fort Jules-Jean-Paul Fort (1 February 1872 – 20 April 1960) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. At the age of 18, reacting against the Naturalistic theatre, Fort founded the Théâtre d'Art (1890–93). He also founded and edit ...

(1872–1960) *

(1858–1915) *

Nicolette Hennique Marquerite Clarisse Nicolette Hennique-Valentin (17 April 1882 – 11 April 1956) was a French symbolist poet. Life Nicolette Hennique was daughter of the novelist Léon Hennique and Nicolette-Louise Dupont-Châtelain. She was born in Paris on 1 ...

(born 1886) * Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (1838–1889) * Alfred Jarry (1873–1907) *

(1859–1936) *

(1860–1887), Uruguayan (wrote in French) *

Comte de Lautréamont Comte de Lautréamont () was the ''nom de plume'' of Isidore Lucien Ducasse (4 April 1846 – 24 November 1870), a French poet born in Uruguay. His only works, ''Les Chants de Maldoror'' and ''Poésies'', had a major influence on modern arts ...

(1846–1870), Uruguayan (wrote in French) *

Jean Lorrain Jean Lorrain (9 August 1855 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime – 30 June 1906), born Paul Alexandre Martin Duval, was a French poet and novelist of the Symbolist school. Lorrain was a dedicated disciple of dandyism and spent much of his time amongs ...

(1855–1906) * Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898) *

Alexandre Mercereau Alexandre Mercereau (22 October 1884, in Paris – 1945) was a French symbolist poet and critic associated with Unanimism and the Abbaye de Créteil. He founded the Villa Médicis Libre, which helped impoverished artists and operated as charitable ...

(1884–1945) * Oscar Milosz (1877–1939) Lithuanian (wrote in French) *

(1856–1910) Greek (wrote in French) *

Saint-Pol-Roux Paul-Pierre Roux, called Saint-Pol-Roux (15 January 1861, quartier de Saint-Henry, Marseille - 18 October 1940, Brest) was a French Symbolist poet. Life Marseille Saint-Pol-Roux was born to a middle-class family in Marseille, where his fath ...

(1861–1940) *

Émile Nelligan Émile Nelligan (December 24, 1879 – November 18, 1941) was a Canadian Symbolist poet from Montreal who wrote in French. Even though he stopped writing poetry after being institutionalized at the age of 19, Nelligan remains an iconic figure ...

(1879–1941) Canadian (wrote in Quebec French) *

Germain Nouveau Germain Marie Bernard Nouveau (1851–1920) was a French poet associated with the symbolist movement. Biography Early life Germain Nouveau was born on 31 July 1851 in Pourrières, Var, in France. He was one of four children of Felicien Nou ...

(1851–1920) *

Rachilde Rachilde was the pen name and preferred identity of novelist and playwright Marguerite Vallette-Eymery (11 February 1860 – 4 April 1953). Born near Périgueux, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France during the Second French Empire, Rachilde went on t ...

(1860–1953) *

Henri de Régnier Henri-François-Joseph de Régnier (28 December 1864 – 23 May 1936) was a French symbolist poet, considered one of the most important of France during the early 20th century. Life and works He was born in Honfleur ( Calvados) on 28 December 1 ...

(1864–1936) *

(1854–1891) *

Jules Romains Jules Romains (born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule; 26 August 1885 – 14 August 1972) was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement. His works include the play '' Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine'', and a cycle ...

(1885–1972) *

(1858–1900) *

Marcel Schwob Mayer André Marcel Schwob, known as Marcel Schwob (23 August 1867 – 26 February 1905), was a French symbolist writer best known for his short stories and his literary influence on authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Alfonso Reyes, Roberto Bol ...

(1867–1905) *

(1871–1945) *

(1844–1896) * Francis Vielé-Griffin (1863–1937) *

Charles Vildrac Charles Vildrac (November 22, 1882 – June 25, 1971), born "Charles Messager",''1971 Britannica Book of the Year'' (for events of 1971), "Obituaries 1971" article, page 532, "Vildrac, Charles" item was a French libertarian playwright, poet a ...

(1882–1971) Georgian *

Valerian Gaprindashvili Valerian Gaprindashvili ( ka, ვალერიან გაფრინდაშვილი) (December 21, 1888 – January 31, 1941) was a Georgian poet and translator whose early, Symbolist, poetry was of much influence on development of Ge ...

(1888–1941) *

Paolo Iashvili Paolo Iashvili ( ka, პაოლო იაშვილი; 29 June 1894 – 22 July 1937) was a Georgian poet and one of the leaders of Georgian symbolist movement. Under the Soviet Union, his obligatory conformism and the loss of his friends at ...

(1894–1937) *

Sergo Kldiashvili Sergo Kldiashvili ( ka, სერგო კლდიაშვილი) (18 October 1893 – 1986) was a Georgian and Soviet prose-writer who set out to be Symbolist but then was drawn to conformist Realist prose under Soviet rule. He was the son ...

(1893–1986) *

Giorgi Leonidze Giorgi Leonidze ( ka, გიორგი ლეონიძე) (27 December 1899 – 9 August 1966) was a Georgian poet, prose writer, and literary scholar. Biography Leonidze was born in the village of Patardzeuli in the eastern Georgian p ...

(1899–1966) *

Kolau Nadiradze Kolau Nadiradze ( ka, კოლაუ ნადირაძე) (24 February 1895 – 28 October 1990) was a Georgia (country), Georgian poet and the last representative of Georgian Symbolism (arts), Symbolist school. Born in Kutaisi, Georgia (the ...

(1895–1991) *

Grigol Robakidze Grigol Robakidze () (October 28, 1880, Sviri (West Georgia) – November 19, 1962, Geneva) was a Georgian writer, publicist, and public figure primarily known for his prose and anti-Soviet émigré activities. Biography He was born on October ...

(1880–1962) *

Titsian Tabidze Titsian Tabidze ( ka, ტიციან ტაბიძე, simply referred to as Titsiani; ka, ტიციანი) (16 December 1937), was a Georgian poet and one of the leaders of the Georgian symbolist movement. He fell victim to Joseph ...

(1895–1937) * Sandro Tsirekidze (1894–1923) German and Austrian *

Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential literary ...

(1868–1933) German *

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-cl ...

(1874–1929) Austrian *

Alfred Kubin Alfred Leopold Isidor Kubin (10 April 1877 – 20 August 1959) was an Austrian printmaker, illustrator, and occasional writer. Kubin is considered an important representative of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography Kubin was born in Bohemia ...

(1877–1959) Austrian *

Gustav Meyrink Gustav Meyrink (19 January 1868 – 4 December 1932) was the pseudonym of Gustav Meyer, an Austrian author, novelist, dramatist, translator, and banker, most famous for his novel '' The Golem''. He has been described as the "most respected Germa ...

(1868–1932) Austrian * Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austro-Bohemian *

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...

(1862–1931) Austrian Polish See Also:

Young Poland Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Pol ...

movement * Stanisław Korab-Brzozowski (1876–1901) *

Antoni Lange Antoni Lange (1863 – 17 March 1929) was a Polish poet, philosopher, polyglot (15 languages), writer, novelist, science-writer, reporter and translator. A representative of Polish Parnassianism and symbolism, he is also regarded as belonging ...

(1861–1929) *

Tadeusz Miciński Tadeusz Miciński (9 November 1873, in Łódź – February 1918, in Cherykaw Raion, Belarus) was an influential Polish poet, gnostic and playwright, and was a forerunner of Expressionism and Surrealism. He is one of the writers of the Young Po ...

(1873–1918) Portuguese and Brasilian * (1861–1934) * João da Cruz e Sousa (1861–1898) Brazilian *

Raul Brandão Raul Germano Brandão (12 March 1867, in Foz do Douro, Porto – 5 December 1930, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese writer, journalist and military officer, notable for the realism of his literary descriptions and by the lyricism of his language. B ...

(1867–1930) * (1868–1946) *

(1869–1944) *

Alphonsus de Guimaraens Afonso Henrique da Costa Guimarães, known as Alphonsus de Guimaraens; (July 24, 1870 in Ouro Preto – July 15, 1921 in Mariana) was a Brazilian poet. The poetry of Alphonsus de Guimaraes is substantially mystical and involved with Catholicism ...

(1870–1921) Brazilian *

António Nobre António Pereira Nobre (16 August 1867 – 18 March 1900) was a Portugal, Portuguese poet. His masterpiece, ''Só (poem collection), Só'' (Paris, 1892), was the only book he published. Life Northern Portugal Nobre was a member of a wealth ...

(1867–1900) * Camilo Pessanha (1867–1926) * Augusto Gil (1873–1929) *

Mário de Sá-Carneiro Mário de Sá-Carneiro (; May 19, 1890 – April 26, 1916) was a Portuguese poet and writer. He is one of the best known authors of the " Geração D'Orpheu", and is usually considered their greatest poet, after Fernando Pessoa. Life Már ...

(1890–1916) Russian * Innokenty Annensky (1855–1909) *

Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...

(1867–1942) *

(1880–1934) *

(1880–1921) *

Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...

(1873–1924) *

(1869–1945) * Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866–1949) *

Fyodor Sologub Fyodor Sologub (russian: Фёдор Сологу́б, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, russian: Фёдор Кузьми́ч Тете́рников, also known as Theodor Sologub; – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, transl ...

(1863–1927) *

(1865–1941) * Teffi (1872–1952) *

Maximilian Voloshin Maximilian Alexandrovich Kirienko-Voloshin (russian: Максимилиа́н Алекса́ндрович Кирие́нко-Воло́шин; May 28, Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_16.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ...

(1877–1932) Scottish Gaelic * Fr. Allan MacDonald (1859 - 1905) * Sorley MacLean (1911 - 1996) * Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa (1915 - 1984) Serbian * Svetozar Ćorović (1875–1919) *

Jovan Dučić Jovan Dučić ( sr-cyr, Јован Дучић, ; 17 February 1871 – 7 April 1943) was a Herzegovinian Serb poet-diplomat and academic. He is one of the most influential Serbian lyricists and modernist poets. Dučić published his first collec ...

(1871–1943) *

Petar Kočić Petar Kočić ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Кочић; 29 June 1877 – 27 August 1916) was a Bosnian Serb writer, activist and politician. Born in rural northwestern Bosnia in the final days of Ottoman rule, Kočić began writing around the turn ...

(1877–1916) *

Veljko Petrović (poet) Veljko Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Вељко Петровић; Sombor, Serbia, 4 February 1884 - Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia, 27 July 1967) was a Serbian poet, short story writer, diplomat, and academic. Biography Veljko Petrović was born i ...

(1884–1967) *

Vladislav Petković Dis Vladislav Petković Dis ( sr-cyr, Владислав Петковић Дис; 10 March 1880 – 30 May 1917) was a Serbian impressionist poet. He died in 1917 on a boat on the Ionian Sea after being hit by a German torpedo making him also remembe ...

(1880–1917) *

Sima Pandurović Sima Pandurović ( sr-cyr, Сима Пандуровић; 14 April 1883 – 27 August 1960) was a Serbian poet, part of the Symbolist movement in European poetry at the time. He died in Belgrade on 27 August 1960. Works ;Selected works *, 190 ...

(1883–1960) *

Milan Rakić Milan Rakić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ракић; 18 September 1876 – 30 June 1938) was a Serbian poet-diplomat and academic. He focused on dodecasyllable and hendecasyllable verse, which allowed him to achieve beautiful rhythm and rhyme ...

(1876–1938) *

Isidora Sekulić Isidora Sekulić ( sr-cyr, Исидора Секулић, 16 February 1877 – 5 April 1958) was a Serbian writer, novelist, essayist, polyglot and art critic. She was "the first woman academic in the history of Serbia". Biography Sekulić was b ...

(1877–1958) *

Jovan Skerlić Jovan Skerlić (, ; 20 August 1877 – 15 May 1914) was a Serbian writer and literary critic.''Jovan Skerlić u srpskoj književnosti 1877–1977: Zbornik radova''. Posebna izdanja, Institut za knjizevnost i umetnost, Belgrade. He is seen as one ...

(1877–1914) *

Borisav Stanković ) , honorific_prefix = , honorific_suffix = , image =Bora Stanković.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Stanković's statue in Vranje , native_name = , native_name_lang = sr , pseudonym = , birth_name = Борисав Стан� ...

(1876–1927) *

Aleksa Šantić Aleksa Šantić ( sr-Cyrl, Алекса Шантић, (); 27 May 1868 – 2 February 1924) was a poet from Bosnia and Herzegovina. His poetry reflecting both the urban culture of the region. The most common themes of his poems are social inju ...

(1868–1924) Others *

Josip Murn Aleksandrov Josip Murn, also known under the pseudonym Aleksandrov (4 March 1879 – 18 June 1901) was a Slovene language, Slovene Symbolism (arts), symbolist poet. Together with Ivan Cankar, Oton Župančič, and Dragotin Kette, he was regarded as one o ...

(1879–1901) Slovene *

(1881–1957) Romanian *

Jurgis Baltrušaitis Jurgis Baltrušaitis (May 2, 1873 – January 3, 1944) was a Lithuanian symbolist poet and translator, who wrote his works in Lithuanian and Russian. In addition to his important contributions to Lithuanian literature, he was noted as a politica ...

(1873–1944) Lithuanian *

(1899-1986), Argentine * Otokar Březina (1868–1929) Czech * Mateiu Caragiale (1885–1936) Romanian * Dimcho Debelyanov (1887–1916) Bulgarian *

Viktors Eglītis Viktors Eglītis (15 April 1877 – 20 April 1945) was a Latvians, Latvian writer and art theorist. He was a leading figure in the Latvian decadent movement and an introducer of Literary modernism, modernist poetics. Early life Viktors Eglīti ...

(1877–1945) Latvian *

Ady Endre Endre Ady (Hungarian: ''diósadi Ady András Endre,'' archaic English: Andrew Ady, 22 November 1877 – 27 January 1919) was a turn-of-the-century Hungarian poet and journalist. Regarded by many as the greatest Hungarian poet of the 20th century ...

(1877–1919) Hungarian *

Dumitru Karnabatt Dumitru or Dimitrie Karnabatt (last name also Karnabat, Carnabatt or Carnabat, commonly known as D. Karr; October 26, 1877 – April 1949) was a Romanian poet, art critic and political journalist, one of the minor representatives of Symbolism. He w ...

(1877–1949) Romanian *

Ivan Krasko Ivan Krasko (real name Ján Botto, pseudonyms ''Bohdana J. Potokinová'', ''Ivan Krasko'', ''Janko Cigáň'', 12 July 1876 in Lukovištia (''Lukovistye'') – 3 March 1958 in Bratislava) was a Slovak poet, translator and representative of moder ...

(1876–1958) Slovak *

Stuart Merrill Stuart Fitzrandolph Merrill (August 1, 1863 in Hempstead, New York – December 1, 1915 in Versailles, France) was an American poet, who wrote mostly in the French language. He belonged to the Symbolist school. His principal books of poetr ...

(1863–1915) American *

Giovanni Pascoli Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli (; 31 December 1855 – 6 April 1912) was an Italian poet, classical scholar and an emblematic figure of Italian literature in the late nineteenth century. Alongside Gabriele D'Annunzio, he was one of the great ...

(1855–1912) Italian

Influence in English literature

English language authors who influenced or were influenced by symbolism include: *

(1889–1973) *

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the drama critic for the '' Saturd ...

(1872–1956) *

Christopher Brennan Christopher John Brennan (1 November 1870 – 5 October 1932) was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic. Biography Brennan was born in Haymarket, an inner suburb of Sydney, to Christopher Brennan (d. 1919), a brewer, and his wife ...

- (1870-1932) * Roy Campbell (1900-1957) * Hart Crane (1899–1932) *

Olive Custance Olive Eleanor Custance (7 February 1874 – 12 February 1944), also known as Lady Alfred Douglas, was an English poet and wife of Lord Alfred Douglas. She was part of the aesthetic movement of the 1890s, and a contributor to '' The Yellow ...

(1874–1944) *

Ernest Dowson Ernest Christopher Dowson (2 August 186723 February 1900) was an English poet, novelist, and short-story writer who is often associated with the Decadent movement. Biography Ernest Dowson was born in Lee, then in Kent, in 1867. His great-uncle ...

(1867–1900) * T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) *

James Elroy Flecker James Elroy Flecker (5 November 1884 – 3 January 1915) was a British novelist and playwright. As a poet, he was most influenced by the Parnassian poets. Biography Herman Elroy Flecker was born on 5 November 1884 in Lewisham, London, to Willi ...

(1884–1915) * John Gray (1866–1934) *

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational church, Congregational Minister (Christianity), minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature a ...

(1824–1905) *

Arthur Machen Arthur Machen (; 3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His ...

(1863–1947) *

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...

(1888–1923) *

Edith Sitwell Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (7 September 1887 – 9 December 1964) was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She reacted badly to her eccentric, unloving parents and lived much of her life with her governess ...

(1887–1964) * Clark Ashton Smith (1893–1961) *

George Sterling George Sterling (December 1, 1869 – November 17, 1926) was an American writer based in the San Francisco, California Bay Area and Carmel-by-the-Sea. He was considered a prominent poet and playwright and proponent of Bohemianism during the fi ...

(1869–1926) *

(1879–1955) * Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) *

Francis Thompson Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...

(1859–1907) * J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1970)Lee 2020, Anna Vaninskaya, "Modernity: Tolkien and His Contemporaries", pages 350–366 *

Rosamund Marriott Watson Rosamund Marriott Watson (née Ball; 6 October 1860 – 29 December 1911) was an English poet, nature writer and critic, who early in her career wrote under the pseudonyms Graham R. Tomson and Rushworth (or R.) Armytage. Early life and educatio ...

(1860–1911) * Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) *

(1865–1939)

Symbolist visual artists

French *

Edmond Aman-Jean Edmond Aman-Jean (13 January 1858, Chevry-Cossigny – 25 January 1936, Paris) was a French symbolist painter, who co-founded the Salon des Tuileries in 1923. Life His father was the owner and operator of an industrial lime kiln. He had h ...

(1858–1936) *

Émile Bernard Émile Henri Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his nota ...

(1868–1941) *

Gaston Bussière (painter) Gaston Bussière (April 24, 1862 in Cuisery – October 29, 1928 or 1929 in Saulieu) was a French Symbolist painter and illustrator. Biography Bussière studied at l'Académie des Beaux-Arts in Lyon before entering the école des beaux-arts de ...

(1862–1929) *

Eugène Carrière Eugène Anatole Carrière (16 January 1849 – 27 March 1906) was a French Symbolist artist of the fin-de-siècle period. Carrière's paintings are best known for their near-monochrome brown palette and their ethereal, dreamlike quality. He ...

(1849–1906) *

(1824–1898) *

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with ''Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

(1870-1943) *

(1836–1904) *

Charles Filiger Charles Filiger (28 November 1863, Thann – 11 January 1928, Brest) was a French Symbolist painter. He was one of the artists who associated with Gauguin at Pont-Aven in Brittany. Biography The son of a wallpaper manufacturer in Mulhouse, Fili ...

(1863–1928) *

(1848–1903) * Charles Guilloux (1866–1946) * Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer (1865–1953) *

Pierre Félix Masseau Pierre Félix Masseau (17 March 1869, in Lyon – 14 April 1937, in Paris), known professionally as Fix-Masseau. He was a noted French sculptor and father of poster artist Pierre Fix-Masseau with whom he is sometimes confused with. Fix-Massea ...

(1869-1937) *

Edgar Maxence Edgard Maxence (; 17 September 1871 – 31 July 1954) was a French Symbolist painter. Life He was taught by Elie Delaunay and Gustave Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is a contemporary of Henri Evenepoel, Jules Flandrin J ...

(1871–1954) *

(1826–1898) *

Gustav-Adolf Mossa Gustav-Adolf Mossa (28 January 1883 – 25 May 1971) was a French illustrator, playwright, essayist, curator and late Symbolist painter. Early life Mossa was born 28 January 1883 in Nice, to an Italian mother, Marguerite Alfieri, and , an art ...

(1883–1971) *

Alphonse Osbert Alphonse Osbert (23 March 1857 – 11 August 1939) was a French Symbolist painter. Educated at the École des Beaux-Arts, his earliest passion was for the great Spanish masters, particularly Jusepe de Ribera. A shift away from his academic style ...

(1857–1939) *

Armand Point Armand Point (23 March 1860"Point, Armand." ''Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 June 2014. or 23 March 1861"Point, Armand." Colette E. Bidon, ''Grove Art on Line, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford ...

(1861–1932) *

Ary Renan Cornelius Ary Renan (1857–1900) was a French Symbolist painter and anti-clerical social activist. Career Renan was the son of the Breton scholar Ernest Renan, who pioneered modern secular study of the life of Jesus. His mother was the daug ...

(1857–1900) * Odilon Redon (1840–1916) *

Alexandre Séon Alexandre Séon (1855, Chazelles-sur-Lyon, Loire – 1917, Paris) was a French Symbolist artist, illustrator and decorator. Séon studied at the Beaux-Arts of Lyon and Paris, becoming a student of Puvis de Chavannes in 1891, with whom he later co ...

(1855–1917) Russian See Also: ''

'' and the

Blue Rose A blue rose is a flower of the genus ''Rosa'' (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow. Blue roses are often used to symbolize mystery or attaining the impossible. However, beca ...

group. * Léon Bakst (1866–1924) *

Alexandre Benois Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Бенуа́, also spelled Alexander Benois; ,Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum''. pp. 15, 23-24. Published by ...

(1870–1960) *

Ivan Bilibin Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin ( rus, Ива́н Я́ковлевич Били́бин, p=ɪˈvan ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪt͡ɕ bʲɪˈlʲibʲɪn; – 7 February 1942) was a Russian illustrator and stage designer who took part in the ''Mir iskusstva'', contr ...

(1876–1942) *

(1870–1905) *

Konstantin Bogaevsky Konstantin Fyodorovich Bogaevsky ( uk, Костянти́н Фе́дорович Богає́вський, transcribed ''Kostyantyn Fedorovych Bohayevskyi''; russian: Константин Фёдорович Богаевский, transcribed ''Ko ...

(1872–1943) *

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

(early works) (1866–1944) *

(1862–1942) *

(1874–1947) *

Konstantin Somov Konstantin Andreyevich Somov (russian: Константин Андреевич Сомов; November 30, 1869 – May 6, 1939) was a Russian artist associated with the '' Mir iskusstva''. Biography Early life Konstantin Somov was born on ...

(1869–1939) *

Viktor Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (russian: Ви́ктор Миха́йлович Васнецо́в; May 15 ( N.S.), 1848 – July 23, 1926) was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He is considered the co-founde ...

(1848–1926) *

(1856–1910) Belgian *

(1855–1898) * Fernand Khnopff (1858–1921) *

James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic g ...

(1860–1949) *

Égide Rombaux Égide Rombaux (19 January 1865 – 11 September 1942) was a Belgian symbolist sculptor. Rombeaux was born in Schaerbeek on 19 January 1865. the son of the sculptor Felix Rombaux and Emerence–Rosalie Lemmens. He studies at the Academie des Bea ...

(1865–1942) *

Léon Frédéric Léon-Henri-Marie Frédéric (26 August 1856 – 27 January 1940) was a Belgian Symbolist painter. His earliest paintings joined Christian mysticism with pantheistic themes, while his later works increasingly reflected social concerns. Much of his ...

(1865–1940) *

William Degouve de Nuncques William Degouve de Nuncques (also Nunques) was a Belgian painter, born 28 February 1867 and died 1 March 1935. He was associated with the symbolist movement although he is occasionally referred to as a postimpressionist. He is best known for his ...

(1867–1935) *

Jean Delville Jean Delville (19 January 1867 – 19 January 1953) was a Belgian symbolist painter, author, poet, polemicist, teacher, and Theosophist. Delville was the leading exponent of the Belgian Idealist movement in art during the 1890s. He held, throug ...

(1867–1953) *

Léon Spilliaert Léon Spilliaert (also Leon Spilliaert; 28 July 1881 – 23 November 1946) was a Belgian symbolist painter and graphic artist. Biography Spilliaert was born in Ostend, the oldest of seven children of Léonard-Hubert Spilliaert, a perfu ...

(1882–1946) Romanian *

Octavian Smigelschi Octavian or Octav Smigelschi (last name also Smigelski, Smighelschi, Szmigelszki, or Szmigelschi; hu, Szmigelszki Oktáv; 21 March 1866 – 10 November 1912) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian painter and printmaker, one of the leading ...

(1866–1912) Austro-Hungarian born, culturally Romanian * Mihail Simonidi (1870–1933) *

Lascăr Vorel Lascăr Vorel (19 August 1879 – 8 February 1918) was a Romanian Post-Impressionist painter whose style was linked to Expressionism. He was the scion of a pharmacist clan in Piatra Neamț, but abandoned the family trade to take up drawing, and ...

(1879–1918) * Apcar Baltazar (1880–1909) *

Ion Theodorescu-Sion Ion Theodorescu-Sion (; also known as Ioan Theodorescu-Sion or Teodorescu-Sion; January 2, 1882 – March 31, 1939) was a Romanian painter and draftsman, known for his contributions to modern art and especially for his traditionalist, primitivist, ...

(1882–1939) German *

Eugen Bracht Eugen Felix Prosper Bracht (3 June 1842 – 5 November 1921) was a German landscape painter. Biography Bracht was born in Morges, Waadt (near Lake Geneva in Switzerland) of German parents. His family later moved to Darmstadt, Germany, where ...

(1842–1921) *

Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

(1851–1913) * Fritz Erler (1868–1940) *

Ludwig Fahrenkrog Ludwig Fahrenkrog (20 October 1867 – 27 October 1952) was a German painter, illustrator, sculptor and writer. He was born in Rendsburg, Prussia, in 1867. He started his career as an artist in his youth, and attended the Berlin Royal Art A ...

(1867–1952) *

Fidus Fidus was the pseudonym used by German illustrator, painter and publisher Hugo Reinhold Karl Johann Höppener (October 8, 1868 – February 23, 1948). He was a symbolist artist, whose work directly influenced the psychedelic style of graphi ...

(1868–1948) * Otto Greiner (1869–1916) *

Ludwig von Hofmann Ludwig von Hofmann (17 August 1861 – 23 August 1945) was a German painter, graphic artist and designer. He worked in a combination of the Art Nouveau and Symbolism (arts), Symbolist styles. His work was part of the Art competitions at the 1928 S ...

(1861–1945) * Max Klinger (1857 – July 1920) *

Emil Nolde Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German-Danish painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of th ...

(1867–1953) *

Max Pietschmann Ernst Max Pietschmann (August 6, 1865, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony – April 16, 1952, in Niederpoyritz, Dresden) was a German Symbolist painter. Life Max Pietschmann studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts from 1883 to 1889. His teache ...

(1865–1952) * Paul Schad-Rossa (1862–1916) *

Sascha Schneider Rudolph Karl Alexander Schneider, commonly known as Sascha Schneider (21 September 1870 – 18 August 1927), was a German painter and sculptor. Biography Schneider was born in Saint Petersburg in 1870. During his childhood, his family lived ...

(1870–1927) *

Clara Siewert Clara Siewert (9 December 1862, Budda (Pomerania) – 11 October 1945, Berlin) was a German Symbolist painter, graphic artist and sculptor; associated with the Berlin Secession. Biography She was born to a family of Baltic-Germans who h ...

(1862–1945) *

Franz von Stuck Franz von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), born Franz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancient mythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim with '' The ...

(1863–1928) *

Hans Unger Hans Unger (August 26, 1872 – August 13, 1936) was a German painter who was, during his lifetime, a highly respected Art Nouveau artist. His popularity did not survive the change in the cultural climate in Germany after World War I, how ...

(1872–1936) *

Oskar Zwintscher Oskar Zwintscher (2 May 1870, in Leipzig – 12 February 1916, in Dresden) was a German painter. He is often associated with the Jugendstil movement. Life From 1887 to 1890 he studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig and, ...

(1870–1916) Swiss * Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901) *

Ferdinand Hodler Ferdinand Hodler (March 14, 1853 – May 19, 1918) was one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century. His early works were portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings in a realistic style. Later, he adopted a personal form of ...

(1853–1918) * Carlos Schwabe (1866–1926) Austrian *

Albin Egger-Lienz Albin Egger-Lienz (29 January 1868 – 4 November 1926) was an Austrian painter known especially for rustic genre and historical paintings. Career He was born in Dölsach-Stribach near Lienz, in what was the county of Tyrol. He was the natural s ...

(1868–1926) *

Rudolf Jettmar Rudolf Jettmar (10 September 1869, Tarnów — 21 April 1939, Vienna) was an Austrian painter and printmaker. The largest collection of the work of Rudolf Jettmar in the United States is held by the Jack Daulton Collection in Los Altos Hills, ...

(1869–1939) * Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) *

(1877–1959) *

Karl Mediz Karl Mediz (4 June 1868, in Vienna – 11 January 1945, in Dresden) was an Austrian landscape and portrait painter. Many of his works are in the Symbolist style. Biography He was born into a family of merchants and was raised by his aunt in Z ...

(1868–1945) * Richard Müller (1874–1954) Others *

George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical work ...

(1817–1904) English *

James A. McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

(1834–1903) American *

Albert Pinkham Ryder Albert Pinkham Ryder (March 19, 1847 – March 28, 1917) was an American painter best known for his poetic and moody allegorical works and seascapes, as well as his eccentric personality. While his art shared an emphasis on subtle variations of ...

(1847–1917) American * John William Waterhouse (1849–1917) English * Luis Ricardo Falero (1851–1896) Spanish * Jacek Malczewski (1854–1929) Polish * Ancell Stronach (1901–1981) Scottish * Jan Toorop (1858–1928) Dutch *

Giovanni Segantini Giovanni Segantini (15 January 1858 – 28 September 1899) was an Italian painter known for his large pastoral landscapes of the Alps. He was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th century, and his paintings were collected by ...

(1858–1899) Italian * Edvard Munch (1863–1944) Norwegian *

Arthur Bowen Davies Arthur Bowen Davies (September 26, 1862 – October 24, 1928) was an avant-garde United States, American artist and influential advocate of modern art in the United States c. 1910–1928. Biography Davies was born in Utica, New York, the son of ...

(1863–1928) American *

Eliseu Visconti Eliseu Visconti, born Eliseo d'Angelo Visconti (30 July 1866, Giffoni Valle Piana, ItalyEliseu V ...

(1866–1944) Brazilian *

John Duncan John Duncan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Duncan (painter) (1866–1945), Scottish painter * John Duncan (artist) (born 1953), American artist and musician * Big John Duncan (born 1958), Scottish punk musician * John Duncan (harpist) ...

(1866–1945) Scottish * Early

František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech Republic, Czech Painting, painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the Abstract ...

(1871–1957) Czech *

Hugo Simberg Hugo Gerhard Simberg (24 June 1873 – 12 July 1917) was a Finnish symbolist painter and graphic artist. Life and career Simberg was born on 24 June 1873, at Hamina (in the original Swedish: ''Fredrikshamn''), Finland, the son of Colonel Nico ...

(1873–1917) Finnish *

Frances MacDonald Frances Macdonald MacNair (24 August 1873 – 12 December 1921) was a Scottish artist whose design work was a prominent feature of the Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) during the 1890s. Biography The sister of artist-designer M ...

(1873–1921) Scottish *

(1875–1911) Lithuanian * Stevan Aleksić (1876–1923) Serbian *

Felice Casorati Felice Casorati (December 4, 1883 – March 1, 1963) was an Italian painter, sculptor, and printmaker. The paintings for which he is most noted include figure compositions, portraits and still lifes, which are often distinguished by unusua ...

(1883–1963) Italian *

Anselmo Bucci Anselmo Bucci (25 May 1887 – 19 November 1955) was an Italian painter and printmaker. Biography Bucci was born in Fossombrone. Having attended the Brera Academy in Milan from 1904 to 1905, he moved to Paris with Leonardo Dudreville in 1906. ...

(1887–1955) Italian *

Ze'ev Raban Ze’ev Raban (22 September 1890 – 19 January 1970), born Wolf Rawicki (Ravitzki), was a leading painter, decorative artist, and industrial designer of the Bezalel school style, and was one of the founders of the Israeli art world. Biography ...

(1890–1970) Polish/Israeli * Beda Stjernschantz (1867—1910) Finnish

Symbolist playwrights

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He rece ...

(1862–1946) German *

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

(1898–1936) Spanish *

(1862–1949) Belgian *

(1869–1940) French

Composers affected by symbolist ideas

* Richard Wagner (1813–1883) German *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

(1840–1893) Russian * Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) French *

Charles Loeffler Charles Martin Tornov Loeffler (January 30, 1861 – May 19, 1935) was a German-born American violinist and composer. Family background Charles Martin Loeffler was born Martin Karl Löffler on January 30, 1861, in Schöneberg near Berlin to par ...

(1861–1935) American * Claude Debussy (1862–1918) French * Richard Strauss (1864–1949) German * Erik Satie (1866–1925) French * Alexander Scriabin (1872–1912) Russian * Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) French *

(1875–1911) Lithuanian *

Mieczysław Karłowicz Mieczysław Karłowicz (, 11 December 18768 February 1909) was a Polish composer and conductor. Life Mieczysław Karłowicz was born in Vishneva, in the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in Belarus) into a noble family belonging to ...

(1876–1909) Polish *

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

(1879–1970) English * Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937) Polish *

Lili Boulanger Marie Juliette "Lili" Boulanger (; 21 August 189315 March 1918) was a French composer and the first female winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize. Her older sister was the noted composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Biography ...

(1893–1918) French

Gallery

File:Gustav Klimt - Allegory of Sculpture - 1889.jpg, Gustav Klimt, Allegory of Skulptur, 1889 File:Toorop, De drie bruiden, 78x98 non bruid helbruid.jpg, Jan Toorop, ''The Three Brides'', 1893 File:Fernand Khnopff - Incense - Google Art Project.jpg, Fernand Khnopff, ''Incense'', 1898 File:Swan princess.jpg,

, ''The Swan Princess'', 1900 File:Stuck Susanna.jpg,

, ''Susanna und die beiden Alten'', 1913 File:Bloktheatre.jpg, The cover to

Aleksander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...

's 1909 book ''Theatre''.

's illustrations for the

Russian symbolist Russian symbolism was an intellectual and artistic movement predominant at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It arose separately from European symbolism, emphasizing mysticism and ostranenie. Literature Influences Primary ...

poet display the continuity between symbolism and Art Nouveau artists such as

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the ...

. File:The last king.jpg,

, ''The Last King'', 1902 File:Franz von Stuck - Die Sünde 1893.jpg,

, ''Die Sünde'', 1893 File:Gefühl der Abhängigkeit.jpg,

''The Feeling of Dependence'', 1920 File:Jupiter and Semele by Gustave Moreau.jpg,

, ''

Jupiter and Semele (1894–95; English, ''Jupiter and Semele'') is a painting by the French Symbolist artist Gustave Moreau (1826–1898). It depicts a moment from the classical myth of the mortal woman Semele, mother of the god Dionysus, and her lover, Jupiter, ...

'', 1894–85 File:Ferdinand Hodler 005.jpg,

, ''The Night'', 1889–90 File:Arnold Böcklin - Die Toteninsel I (Basel, Kunstmuseum).jpg, Arnold Böcklin – ''Die Toteninsel I'', 1880 File:Malczewski Jacek Przy studni.jpg, Jacek Malczewski, ''Poisoned Well with Chimera'', 1905 File:Mikhail Nesterov 001.jpg,

, '' The Vision of the Youth Bartholomew'', 1890 File:La_vetta_-_Cesare_Saccaggi.jpg, , ''La Vetta'', (1898)

References

External links

Collection of German Symbolist art
The

Jack Daulton James (Jack) Daulton (born October 30, 1956) is an American art collector, trial lawyer, music entrepreneur, exploration philanthropist, and expert and lecturer on the history of art and architecture. Daulton rose to fame representing the natio ...

Collection
''Les Poètes maudits''
by

ArtMagick The Symbolist Gallery

Ten Dreams Galleries – extensive article on Symbolism

, Odilon Redon
Literary Symbolism
Published in ''A Companion to Modernist Literature and Culture'' (2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Symbolism, arts Art movements Literary movements 19th century in art 19th-century theatre Fantastic art French poetry Modern art Modernism

Etymology

Precursors and origins

Movement

The Symbolist Manifesto

Techniques

Paul Verlaine and the ''poètes maudits''

Philosophy

Symbolists and decadents

Periodical literature

In other media

Visual arts

Music

Prose fiction

Theatre

Effect

Symbolists

Precursors

Authors

Influence in English literature

Symbolist visual artists

Symbolist playwrights

Composers affected by symbolist ideas

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links