Symbolism is the art of communicating with symbols

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Symbolism is a kind of art direction that appeared in the middle of the century before last in France. This art form quickly gained the widest popularity and continued its active development until the twentieth century.

Symbolism is one of the most important elements of world art. Although it appeared only in the nineteenth century, its elements can be clearly seen from ancient times. For example, Gothic medieval paintings and frescoes are saturated with the symbols of Christianity. In the mystical, ghostly paintings that artists painted in the era of romanticism, one can see numerous elements of symbolism.

However, this direction in art received the greatest development already in the nineteenth century as a counterweight to realism and impressionism. In this direction, a negative attitude towards the developing bourgeoisie was openly expressed. Symbolism is an expression of longing for spiritual freedom, a subtle premonition of historical and social changes throughout the world and humanity.

The term "symbolism" itself was first published in "Le Figaro" - a fairly popular printed periodical - in 1886year, the eighteenth of September. The main ideas of this trend were described in literature by the famous French poet Charles Baudelaire. He believed that only symbols can fully express the subtle state of mind of a poet or artist.

The philosophical and aesthetic foundations of symbolism began to develop almost simultaneously in many Western European countries. The main representatives of symbolism are S. Mallarmé, P. Verdun, A. Rimbaud, P. Valery in France; M. Maeterlinck, E. Verharn in Belgium; G. Gaupman in Germany; R. Rilke in Austria; Oscar Wilde in the UK; G. Ibsen and K. Hamsun in Norway. One could even say that the symbolism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is entirely dependent on literature.

Symbolism is to some extent an echo of romanticism. The aesthetics of both these currents are very similar and connected. A symbol is an object of insight generated by the poet. He expressed the secret meaning of things, revealed the secrets of being, painted the otherworldly, mystical, esoteric meaning of phenomena, hidden from ordinary people. The symbols drawn by the artist were considered truly prophetic, and the artist himself was a creator, a seer who could see certain hidden signs of fate in events and phenomena.

Symbolism in art was addressed to the spiritual sphere, to the interaction of the inner world of a person, his personality and individuality, with the outer world. According to the concept of symbolism, the real world exists outside of our visible world, and it is only partiallymay be reflected in it. It is art that acts as a kind of mediator between these worlds, is a means of transforming and interpreting the spiritual side of life.

Symbolism has firmly entered the literature, painting and architecture of many countries, having significantly influenced world art. The Symbolists laid the foundation for surrealism with their desire for innovation, cosmopolitanism and numerous experiments.