In the history of European painting, an important feature of the second half of the19th century is that poetry moves closer to painting and painting leaps to poetry. Symbolism is the representative of this feature. In an article from 65438 to 0886, French symbolist poet Kahn profoundly expounded its characteristics: "The fundamental purpose of our art is to objectify the subjective things (externalization of ideas), not to subjectivize the objective things (nature seen through individual eyes)." Usually people have an illusion that impressionist painting is the mainstream of art in the second half of the19th century, and impressionist painters are regarded as pioneers of modernism. Although impressionist painting and symbolic painting almost appeared at the same time, the former is the last stage of the painting tradition of "imitating nature", while the main characteristics of the latter show that it belongs to the development after impressionism, and its appearance marks the starting point of the transition of European art from traditionalism to modernism. The influence of symbolism on painting has surpassed impressionism, whether it is the length of duration or the breadth of geographical spread. The revolutionary significance of symbolism lies in that it produces a new artistic philosophy closer to modern times. Auriere, a critic, summed up the artistic philosophy of symbolism in an article on Gauguin. He pointed out that a work of art "is ideological first, because its only ideal is to express ideas;" Second, it is symbolic, because it expresses this idea in various forms; Third, it is comprehensive, because it expresses these forms and symbols in a universally understood way; Fourth, it is subjective, because the object is no longer regarded as an object, but a symbol of the thought understood by the subject; Fifth, it is decorative, because strictly speaking, as the Egyptians, perhaps more like the Greeks and the early Renaissance understood, decorative painting is only a subjective, comprehensive, symbolic and ideological artistic expression. "Thus, comprehensiveness and symbolism are mutually penetrating.
Symbolic painting was active between 1885 and 1900, which was closely related to the symbolism movement in French literature, especially in the mid-1980s. Symbolic painting originated in France, and the painters who are considered as the main representatives of symbolism are Savannah, Moro and Redon.
Puvis de Shawane (1824- 1898) mainly makes decorative murals for many public buildings, so his oil paintings also have the characteristics of wet murals. He created a decorative style with elegant colors, simplicity, quiet atmosphere and distinct rhythm, described the plot and theme implied from ancient times, and showed the characteristics of academic school. His paintings always have a pinkish color, and it seems that the inner body, robes, soil and leaves are all made of the same material. This treatment is as unreal as archaeological discoveries, emphasizing the abstraction and unity of picture rationality. It was this characteristic that attracted many young painters at that time. Most of Shawana's murals use symbolism to convey the meaning of life. For example, the Oracle in the Holy Grail (1884- 1889) he wrote for the Lyon Art Palace is an example. The whole painting gives people a dreamy and poetic mood. This painting, like his other works, has a hint of melancholy in a peaceful and quiet atmosphere, which is a typical mood at the end of the century. Chavana's works also influenced the creations of Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat, Deni, Picasso and others. As far as his concern about the unity of the picture is concerned, he is a real pioneer of Cezanne.
Gustave moreau (1826- 1898) shared this honor with Chavanat. He is the core figure of symbolism painting, and he uses symbols more boldly than Xia Fan. He is not afraid to touch the most grotesque themes. He is famous for his erotic paintings depicting myths and religious themes. Most of the female images in his works are enchanting and evil, and his paintings are full of the conflict of the opposite sex, the mystery of life and death, and the implication of good and evil. His creation combines Italian classical art and exotic oriental art, which benefits from literature, especially poetry. His works have also attracted the attention of writers. Moreau's Salome Dancing Before Herod (1876) attracted more than 500,000 viewers when it was exhibited in the salon. This painting has jewel-like bright colors and fantastic mysterious artistic conception.
Odilon redon (0 Dillon Redon, 1840- 19 16) was compared by Deni as "the Ulame of painting". In aesthetics, Redong advocates using imagination instead of relying on visual impression. In the late 1970s 19, he began to create lithographs, and * * * created nearly 200 pieces with the general title "In a Dream". French writer houseman called Redong's painting "a morbid and crazy dream". His group painting (1882) dedicated to the poet Allen Bo can be said to be a visual poem, showing the poet's painful inner world, which is also a dark kingdom without light and time. Because Dong Lei almost used monochromatic sketches and prints, his later color paintings can reach a very concise level, and even have almost no real background.
/kloc-at the end of 0/9 century, the aestheticism movement in English literature also had an important influence on symbolic painting. The theory of this movement is that art exists only for its own beauty, that is, it advocates "art for art's sake". The philosophical basis of aestheticism is that Kant's aesthetics does not involve utilitarian theory. In the late 1980s, British aestheticism entered the most prosperous period, which was marked by the appearance of Wilde's decadent novels dorian gray (189 1) and Salome (1893) and the painter Aubrey beardsley (65433). Besides beardsley, the most outstanding artists in the aestheticism movement are george watts (18 17- 1904) and Boom Jones (1833-98). The French painter Henri de Toulouse Lautrec (1864- 190 1) was also obviously influenced by British aestheticism.
France and Britain have made the most outstanding achievements in symbolic art, but some famous groups and outstanding painters have also appeared in other European countries, who have made important contributions to symbolic painting. For example, the 20 regiments in Belgium, the Rose Cross in Paris, the separatists in Germany and Austria, etc. Outstanding painters include Belgian fernand khnopff (1858- 192 1) and James Schell (1860- 1949), and Norwegian edvard munch (EDD). 1863- 1944), Jan toorop of the Netherlands (1858-1928), Arnold bocmin of German-speaking countries (1827-6928). Most of their works reveal a kind of melancholy, decadence, depression, loneliness and hesitation, which is the so-called feelings at the end of the century.
In a word, the philosophical basis of symbolism is mysticism, believing in that ideal other world. For symbolism, it is important to reflect the individual's subjective feelings, make the individual divorced from reality and lead him to the illusory world of "ideas". Therefore, what can be felt in symbolic works is only the abstraction and instability of the image, which is a strong subjective color and obscure meaning.