Symbolism Art Movement - Characteristics Identify This Art

1880 – 1910

How to identify Symbolist art? (Five Features)

Feature 1:
Symbolist paintings are dim, nightmarish scenes where artistic imagination is overtaken by the morbid and the macabre. The visions are otherworldly and mystical. You’ll find haunting, mysterious figures, evil women, supernatural monsters and demons, and imagery of sex and death. The atmosphere is always unsettling and gloomy.

Symbolism vs. Romanticism: Although both Romantic and Symbolist artists had an interest in mysticism and horrific visions, they differed on multiple points. The Romantics had a fascination with nature and how we’ve become alienated from it. The Symbolists were not interested in that. As for the violent, dream-like scenes of Romantic art, unlike the Symbolist ones, they were moments of action – heavily dramatic. They were also rebellious and often contained a political message. On the other hand, the Symbolist figures are statuesque, eternally suspended in motion against haunting landscapes.

Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin

In this painting an oarsman is slowly rowing towards a small, desolate islet with openings that suggest of sepulchres. On the boat, there’s a draped coffin and a mysterious, statuesque figure shrouded in white. The atmosphere evokes feelings of gloominess and other-worldliness.

The Wounded Angel by Hugo Simberg
This Finnish masterpiece inspired a music video by fellow countrymen and women of heavy metal band Nightwish

The Dream by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
In this painting, Love, Wealth and Glory appear to a sleeping traveler.

Madam Stuart Merrill – Mysteriosa by Jean Delville

Feature 2:
As the name of the art movement implies, the paintings display objects–symbols–that represent abstract ideas. For example, the terrifying angel in The Death of the Grave Digger (below) symbolizes death. Most of the symbolism referred to death, decadence and debauchery. Extending the symbolism to a whole painting makes it allegorical. The Three Brides below is an example where the three brides represent three states of the soul. The artists used mythological characters and biblical events: dark spirits, angels, gods and goddesses.

Symbolism vs. Surrealism: Despite the common characteristic of placing objects in bizarre juxtapositions in both art styles, there is one main difference: in a Symbolist artwork, everything is meaningful. Also there is always a single, coherent idea that ties up all the strange symbols in one painting. As for Surrealist art, symbols are often irrational and nonsensical. Sometimes they’re used in a playful and humorous way which is foreign to Symbolist art.

The Death of the Grave Digger by Carlos Schwabe

In this painting the black dress and wings of the Angel of Death contrast with the white background of the snow-covered graveyard. She had just caught an old gravedigger by surprise, as evident from his tense hand grasping at his own heart. The green light she holds most likely represents his soul. Surrounding the grave where the old man had been standing and which will be his ultimate resting place, there’s growing grass. It symbolizes the start of a new life while another is ending.

The Three Brides by Jan Toorop
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Pornocrates La dame au cochon – The Lady with the Pig by Félicien Rops
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Hesiod and the Muse by Gustave Moreau
Hesiod, a Greek poet, is shown here with a lyre in the presence of the Muse of song and poetry.

I lock my door upon myself by Fernand Khnopff
Note the Pre-Raphaelite influence on this painting: the woman of ideal beauty with long, flowing red hair, her wistful gaze and the title of the painting which is based on a line from a poem.

Jupiter and Semele by Gustave Moreau
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The Dance of Life by Edvard Munch
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The Cyclops by Odilon Redon
Note the influence of Impressionism on the color composition of this painting.

Feature 3:
Look for the recurring dark theme of death and mortality (hint: skulls and skeletons)

The Garden of Death by Hugo Simberg

According to to the artist, this is a waiting place before arriving at heaven. The strange flowers are symbols of the souls of the dead. It might have been inspired by the traditional idea of the purgatory. Perhaps the the road at the top of the painting is what leads towards heaven. What’s innovative about this painting is that the skeletons in black robes, who are reminiscent of the frightening Grim Reaper, are depicted as lovable and gentle figures tending to flowers: One is shown with a watering can and the other is holding up to his chest a bunch of flowers. A possible interpretation of this gloomy yet peaceful painting is to tell the viewers that there is no reason to fear death.

Death and Life by Gustav Klimt

In this allegorical painting, Death is personified in the traditional Grim Reaper looking down on Life represented by all ages, incluing a mother, grandmother and a baby. They’re all huddled together making a “monolith of life.” The Grim Reaper is holding a club (not a scythe) eagerly watching like a predator. People seem unaware of his presence, and his closeness. He is wearing a robe covered with crosses to symbolize death. In contrast, the women, on the other side, are sleeping on a flower bed, as a symbol of beauty and youth.

Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle by Arnold Böcklin
The skeleton in the background playing a violin is a centuries-old symbol of inevitable death.

Death and the Masks by James Ensor
None of the faces in this painting is real: The masks in the painting stand for the decadence and materialism of the bourgeosie while in the middle there’s a skull, representing death, showing a creepy grin, as if bemused by their acting that the party will never come to an end.

Feature 4:
Femme fatale: Look for the theme of sin and sensuality, famously portrayed in the popular motif of the femme fatale (‘dangerous woman’). Traditional social view of women had always influenced art which would often fit them in one of two main archetypes: virgin or whore. The femme fatale reappeared in Symbolist art, and it was nothing short of obscene. From the perspective of artists (or many men of that era), women were dangerous and deceptive, sexually deviant and insatiable. They could even turn ruthlessly violent. Artists used that theme as a cautionary tale against submitting to their allure. They didn’t need to make up new subject matter because they were able to reuse familiar scenes from ancient mythology (e.g. Medusa) or the Bible (Eve or Salome).

Symbolism vs. Pre-Raphaelite art: Contrast the ideal, virginal beauty of Pre-Rapaelite women with their evil, monstrous counterparts below.

The Sin by Franz Stuck
Note Eve’s gaze towards you and the serpent around her torso which is usually a symbol of her seduction.

Idol of Perversity -L’Idole de la perversité by Jean Delville
Note the snake slithering between her breasts and the supernatural energy radiating from her head.