Collection: Symbolism

Symbolism in late nineteenth-century European painting and literature ran from approximately 1880 to 1910, treating dream, allegory, myth, and erotic ambiguity as primary subject matter. The movement set itself against both Naturalist documentary description and Impressionist optical record, arguing that the painting should evoke an inner state rather than describe an outer scene. Jean Moréas's literary manifesto, published in Le Figaro in 1886, named the programme.

The French wing was anchored by Gustave Moreau and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, with Odilon Redon developing the most original lithographic and pastel work of the period. The Belgian Symbolists included Fernand Khnopff, Jean Delville, James Ensor, and Léon Frédéric. Gustav Klimt in Vienna, Edvard Munch in Norway, Arnold Böcklin and Ferdinand Hodler in Switzerland, Franz von Stuck in Munich, and Mikhail Vrubel in Russia all worked within the broader field. Jan Toorop in the Netherlands developed a distinctive linear idiom.

The British end of the same generation included John William Waterhouse, who applied the movement's literary and mythological subject matter to a softer late Victorian register. Symbolism prepared the ground for early Expressionism and surrealism through its commitment to the irrational image.