Symbolism (art): Origins, themes, and influence of the late 19th-century movement
Symbolism in art: a late 19th-century movement that emphasized inner truths and mythic, dreamlike imagery over literal representation, influencing literature, painting, sculpture and later modern styles.
Overview
Symbolism emerged in the last decades of the 19th century as an international current across France, Belgium, Russia and other countries. It reacted against the dominant emphasis on objective representation found in realism and naturalism, arguing that art should stand for invisible realities: moods, spiritual truths, dreams and metaphysical ideas. Rather than offering direct illustration, symbolist artists preferred suggestion, allegory and layered meanings so that a painting, sculpture or poem could evoke inner states rather than describe outward facts.
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Distinctive characteristics
Symbolist works often employ mythological subjects, dream sequences, archetypal figures and recurring motifs such as landscapes at dusk, solitary women, masks, and enigmatic animals. The imagery is typically personal, ambiguous and deliberately obscure: symbols are not standardized emblems with fixed meanings but private signs that invite interpretation. Color, line, and composition are used to create atmosphere and psychological depth rather than to record visual detail. This emphasis on mood frequently gives symbolist art a poetic, sometimes hallucinatory quality.
Literary roots and development
The movement grew in close dialogue with contemporary literature and poetry. Poets and critics reframed the role of language, suggesting that words could evoke the essence of experience instead of naming objects. Important influences included Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal and the work of Edgar Allan Poe, whose tales and poems were translated and admired across Europe. The critic Jean Moréas helped to name and define the movement in the 1880s, distinguishing symbolism from other related tendencies in art and letters.
Notable artists and geographic spread
Symbolism was not confined to one national school. In France and Belgium artists developed rich pictorial vocabularies, while in Austria and Central Europe the approach merged with decorative and erotic currents. Northern and Eastern Europe produced distinct variants that absorbed folklore and religious motifs. Some practitioners associated with the movement include Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon and Félicien Rops in France; Gustav Klimt in Austria; Edvard Munch in Norway; and a number of Russian painters who translated symbolist ideas into local idioms. Auguste Rodin's sculpture is sometimes discussed in relation to symbolist aims because of its focus on inner tension and expressive form.
Uses, influence and legacy
Symbolism played a catalytic role in the transition to several modern styles. Its poetic attention to mood and decorative pattern helped shape Art Nouveau and influenced groups such as Les Nabis. The symbolist insistence on subjective meaning also anticipated several currents in 20th-century modernism, including surrealism and expressionism, which deepened the movement's interest in dreams and psychology. Beyond stylistic influence, symbolism altered how artists and audiences thought about the purpose of art: as revelation of unseen realities rather than as mirror of the visible world.
Distinctions and notable facts
Unlike academic allegory or popular iconography, symbolist imagery resists fixed interpretation and often mixes sacred with profane elements. The movement crossed media: painters, sculptors, writers and stage designers exchanged motifs and ideas. While some symbolist works achieved public acclaim, others remained deliberately obscure and appealed primarily to avant-garde circles. Today symbolism is studied both as an artistic program and as a broader cultural tendency that responded to the spiritual, scientific and social anxieties of the fin de siècle.
Further reading and resources
- General overview of Symbolism
- French developments and major figures
- Russian interpretations and artists
- Belgian contributions to the movement
- Contrast with realism
- Contrast with naturalism
- Connections with contemporary poetry
- Baudelaire and Les Fleurs du mal
- Influence of Edgar Allan Poe
- Literary tropes absorbed by artists
- Relation to Romantic and gothic tendencies
- Gustave Moreau: themes and style
- Gustav Klimt and Viennese Symbolism
- Odilon Redon and the visual imaginary
- Edvard Munch and psychological emphasis
- Nicholas Roerich and spiritual themes
- Martiros Saryan and regional adaptations
- Mikhail Nesterov and religious imagery
- Léon Bakst and stage design
- Later echoes: Frida Kahlo and symbolic self-portraiture
- Rodin and sculptural expression
- Difference from traditional iconography
- Influence on Art Nouveau and Les Nabis
Religious symbolism
Religious symbolism can be distinguished according to "theologically dogmatic" or generally esoteric symbolism. In 1832 Johann Adam Möhler introduced the term "symbolism" (derived from the Greek "symbolon" as a designation of the creed) for the presentation of doctrinal commonalities and doctrinal differences between the denominations. From then on, denominational studies was also called "symbolism".
Esoteric symbolism
General esoteric symbolism is valid regardless of culture, creed and time. Its elements are either figurative or merely glyphic or geometric and are therefore found in similar form everywhere. This is especially true of the most basic symbols such as the dot, circle, cross, triangle, stars of all kinds, and of course the sun. Certain letters and numbers also have a strong symbolic character. This is especially true in the Jewish Kabbalah, and therefore also in the architectural ornamentation of the Christian Occident since the Middle Ages. Many figurative symbols originate from the theogony and mythology of the respective cultural area, others from the so-called universal tradition in its development since prehistory and from Babylon (Sumer) via Egypt, Greece and Rome, which, however, also finds its counterparts in ancient America (pre-Inca, pre-Maya, pre-Columbian culture). From the world creation myths to theogony and anthropogony to the doctrines of redemption, numerous correspondences are found throughout the world and in every era of humanity. Special symbol families have developed in alchemy, in heraldry and in the Gnostic tradition since the 2nd century BC.
Questions and answers
Q: What is Symbolism?
A: Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin. The movement rejected realism and naturalism, and included poetry and other arts. Symbolists believed that art should represent absolute truths that could only be described indirectly.
Q: Who started the style in literature?
A: The style of symbolism in literature started with the publication Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil, 1857) by Charles Baudelaire.
Q: Who invented the term "symbolist"?
A: The term "symbolist" was first used by the critic Jean Moréas.
Q: How is symbolism related to Romanticism?
A: Symbolism in art is related to the gothic component of Romanticism.
Q: Who were some notable symbolist painters?
A: Notable symbolist painters include Gustave Moreau, Gustav Klimt, Odilon Redon, Henri Fantin-Latour, Gaston Bussière, Edvard Munch, Félicien Rops, Jan Toorop, Mikhail Vrubel, Nicholas Roerich, Martiros Saryan ,Mikhail Nesterov ,Léon Bakst ,Elena Gorokhova ,Frida Kahlo and David Chetlahe Paladin .
Q: What type of imagery did symbolists use?
A: Symbolists used mythological and dream imagery for their paintings.
Q: What kind of symbols are used in symbolism?
A:The symbols used by symbolism are not the familiar emblems of mainstream iconography but intensely personal, private obscure and ambiguous references.
Related articles
Author
AlegsaOnline.com Symbolism (art): Origins, themes, and influence of the late 19th-century movement Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/95627
Sources
- ieeff.org : Le Manifeste du Symbolisme