Symbolist Art

World of Art

by Edward Lucie-Smith

Though the Symbolist heyday in Paris was short-lived, the movement had an influence on painting in both duration and geographical range. Important Symbolist painters were at work in places as remote from one another as Munch in Oslo, Klimt in Vienna, and the young Picasso in Barcelona. It is through Symbolism, too, that the relationship between the English painting of the later nineteenth century and what was taking place in Europe can be explained. Edward Lucie-Smith's important study throws light upon the origins of Modernism, and upon the development of painting and sculpture in the final years of the century. 185 illus., 24 in color.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History

Paperback

First published December 1, 1972

About the author

John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith, known as Edward Lucie-Smith, is an English writer, poet, art critic, curator and broadcaster.

Lucie-Smith was born in Kingston, Jamaica, moving to the United Kingdom in 1946. He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, and, after a little time in Paris, he read History at Merton College, Oxford from 1951 to 1954.

After serving in the Royal Air Force as an Education Officer and working as a copywriter, he became a full-time writer (as well as anthologist and photographer). He succeeded Philip Hobsbaum in organising The Group, a London-centred poets' group.

At the beginning of the 1980s he conducted several series of interviews, Conversations with Artists, for BBC Radio 3. He is also a regular contributor to The London Magazine, in which he writes art reviews. A prolific writer, he has written more than one hundred books in total on a variety of subjects, chiefly art history as well as biographies and poetry.

In addition he has curated a number of art exhibitions, including three Peter Moores projects at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool; the New British Painting (1988–90) and two retrospectives at the New Orleans Museum of Art. He is a curator of the Bermondsey Project Space.

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Symbolist movement is usually seen as a largely literary affair, confined to local little islands of thought. Lucie-Smith's goal with this book is to restore Symbolism in painting to its proper place within the arts in Europe in general and, more importantly, to remind us of its location on the trajectory towards what is called Modernism.
Symbolism was the piece linking Romanticism and all that crap to the emergence of artists like Picasso (whose early work was exemplary Symbolism). Movements in art didn't simply emerge miraculously from the divine slime, but rather evolved out of other movements just as they vanished into them.
Symbolism was an expression of displeasure with the mores of the time through ambiguity, symbolism (duh), the reactive summoning power of the image, and synthesis as opposed to analysis. Art was meant to parallel the world, not be of it, the Symbolists might argue.
There's a lot of ground covered here and Lucie-Smith does a fine job keeping it concise. A lot of favorites pop up and some new ones (to me, anyway) are discussed. Moreau, Redon, Gauguin, Rops, Klimt, Munch--scads of others are included. He takes a little more time with the ones he deems crucial, like Munch who he sees as being the main bridge to Modernism.
Tons of plates, too, which is always nice.
Hooray for dark and terrifying artistic equivocation! Feel the terror!

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this in the 1970's, when I was into Surrealism. The Symbolist's were a big influence on the Surrealists. This was a good time of my life, exploring and getting to understand all these areas of art.
I enjoyed reading this again.
Symbolism was an important movement, one of the foundations for modernism. Writers were as much a part of the movement as were artists. Literature and poetry and painting mutually inspired and influenced each other. The Symbolists drew inspiration from a diverse range of people and subject, including music. The symbolist movement attracted a diverse range of artists like Gauguin, Arnold Bocklin, Odilon Redon, Puvis De Chavannes, Burne-Jones, Ensor, Emile Bernard, Klimpt, Munch, Gustave Moreau, early Picasso and many more. Part of the movement had a taste for elitism and the occult.

[Nate D · Rating 3 out of 5]

A broad if cursory overview of an extremely interesting period. Useful! Heavy on the pictures, which is great, though not nearly so many are in color as I might have liked.

[Cobi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal stuff here

[Salomé · Rating 3 out of 5]

broad, a good starting point for someone with no knowledge of the movement, a good introduction to a lot of key figures and fascinating works. wish it went more in depth about cultural moments / politics / philosophy related to the movement and into individual pieces themselves. a lot of knowledge is presumed. and it was tiring to read through paragraphs of “x artist went to france and studied under y who then went on to influence z” without exploring the significance of particular places or people or works. he also makes some ridiculous unsubstantiated value judgements (kind of amusing)

[Chelsea H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good overview but the assumptive scholarship drove me crazy. He makes some big claims that aren't very well supportive and has a lot of subjective statements. I know it's just a survey but I found it maddening.

[ellie a · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this one! not the most thrilling or exciting read but definitely one that i am glad i trudged through. very informational, although my previous interest in the subject definitely carried me through at some points.

[Ziedonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting niche knowledge about various symbolist artists, concepts, etc., but the language used can a bit too "intellectual" and most of the photos are b&w :( IN AN ART BOOK. (but i gathered that it's a reprint from 1972 )

[Desiree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting read. Saddly it only highlighted 2 female artist 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that introduced me to the symbolist and pre-Raphaelist art movements after a friend had noticed my liking for Burne-Jones, Rosseti and other members of the movement. I cannot rate the book without rating the pictures, most of which I loved.

Symbolism is a payoff for doing your homework in the sense that it plays on the West's rich history of symbolic motifs (many of them Christian and mediaeval) and legends. The works themselves are usually quite representational, albeit idealized. A sophisticate in the visual arts, which I am certainly not, might not agree with my naive appreciation. A cultural critic might see connections between Symbolism, Romanticism and Aryan Kulture. Many will notice connections between their work and those of the Art Deco and Art Noveau movements.

[Jerome · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book while doing research for my undergrad thesis on Huysmans. Lucie-Smith's text was very helpful for understanding the various strands of romanticism, pre-Raphaelite, decadent, and other movements that coalesced into "symbolist art." This is not a big book -- the reproductions don't allow for much detail; but the 185 illustrations, 24 in color, are a good sampling of the movement, and gave me a glimpse at some of the artists whose work I was unable to find elsewhere.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to Symbolist art and it's origins. It acts as a great first taste for those who know little on the topic. Each chapter is organized quite well by important artist, and there is also plenty of mention of popular literature and music of the time, which highly influenced all the artists mentioned.

[Dfordoom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview which emphasises the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites on the Symbolists.