Buying Paintings: Symbolism

Evoking a taste similar to the Romanticist tradition,from the strife of the world.
but utilized mysticism and sensitivity throughThese similarities, which presented a contemplative
mythology and dream imagery, preceding theand artistic refuge using themes such as mortality
psychoanalytical work of Freud and Jung. With aand otherworldliness, created disparaging arguments
strong philosophical touch, more so than a style ofbetween critic and artist alike. Leading to many
art, and Art Nouveau and Expressionist artists suchSymbolist poets of the day to make their own
as Edvard Munch. Beginning in France as a reaction topublications and periodicals, and the literary Symbolism
the movements of Naturalism and Realism, whichthen reached its’ peak in the year 1886, with
seemed to capture the particular components ofone particular periodical lasting until 1965. Though the
consensual reality, and presented spirituality andtwo aspects of the movement were distinct, they
imagination reflecting some artists budding interest inwould occasionally overlap each other, and became a
religion and spirituality.continuation for mystical tendencies in a Romantic
In literature, poet Charles Baudelaire was developingtradition, even flirting with the self-consciously dark
his work and the movement, and especially with suchDecadence movement.
luminaries as Verlaine contributing to the collectiveThere were several dissimilar groups of painters and
effort of the literary movement during the 1860s andvisual artists within the Symbolism movement, and
through to the 1870s. With the works of Edgar Allenthe artistic movement seemed to have a greater
Poe coming to popularity in the 1880s, the Symbolismimpact worldwide than the literary movement,
movement in artwork represented an outgrowth intoreaching multiple artists and sculptors from such
the darker and more gothic nature of Romanticism,distinct parts as Russia. Many of the symbols found
and contrasted with Romanticism’s rebellious andherein are not necessarily universal, but more
impetuous sides. Symbolist writers wrote in verypersonally affected with the artist’s obscure and
metaphoric and suggestive manner, to imbue theprivate references, with some dreamlike subject
subjects with a sense of symbolic meaning, andmatter influencing later Surrealists. Symbolism has had
made realistic images into representatives for morea strong link to music for a while, and mostly due to
esoteric and primordial ideas.the enthusiasm for the work of Richard Wagner,
In translating the language of dreams into artworkwhose own music reflected his influence from the
with symbolic leanings, discovering a visual style thatphilosopher Schopenhauer.
draws upon that philosophical approach that capturesSymbolism even grew to affect some of the literary
a sense of art that has been influential on more thanfiction contributed by Oscar Wilde and Paul Adam,
one movement artistically, and has evoked some ofand has a pronounced ring when speaking about
the more fantastic imagery to ever cross a canvas.movements that have literary and artistically that
The Symbolist Manifesto was published in 1886,have crossed over into other inner groupings of
leading to a description of the movement thatartistic work. The waters of Symbolism have even
included ideas such as being hostile towards plain andfiltered down the centuries into the state of motion
matter-of-fact meanings, and to express the ideal inpictures today, and early on held influence with
a perceptible form was the sole purpose of this artRussian playwright Anton Chekhov, as well as Russian
form.actor and director Vsevolov Meyerhold’s method
Symbolists that preferred poetic means of conveyingof acting that influenced early motion pictures.
their ideas, were known for their techniques ofIt is difficult to overlook Symbolism’s influence
removing technical aspects to achieve a greaterand repercussions throughout the timeline to the
fluidity for their work, and became related withcurrent period of the world, as it drifts through many
seeking use of symbolic images over raw descriptionaspects taken for granted on a daily basis, and many
to evoke the state of the poet’s soul. Paulpieces of work for many artists from writer T. S.
Verlaine was influential in an 1884 publication definingEliot to painter Pablo Picasso and even the state of
the essence of Symbolism, through many essays onhorror films as well. A decidedly different state of the
the relevant poets of the day, and came to theworld now has interpreted and reinterpreted all this
conclusion of relating the works of this movement tothroughout these hundreds of years, and created
the famed philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, whosemore and more material reflections of the state of
own work delved into art as a means of refugethings as they happen to be.