Gustave Moreau

A French artist, one of the most prominent representatives of the first wave of Symbolism. Painting mythological plots and not recognizing Impressionism that was popular at the end of the 19th century, Gustave Moreau was one of the leading painters of his time. As a talented teacher, he educated a whole galaxy of outstanding artists who admired his extraordinary vision of color and form, stunning intelligence and outlook. Without exaggeration, we can say that the work of Gustave Moreau determined the direction of development of painting in Europe and served as a kind of bridge between classical painting and the art of the future.

Key ideas:

– Paintings of Gustave Moreau strikingly differed from the works of his contemporaries. While Impressionists preferred to depict their own impressions from the world and academic artists were interested only in the outer shape of objects, Moreau strives to fill his paintings with deep inner meaning and symbols going into the human subconscious. The artist preferred mythological plots and biblical stories, reinterpreting them according to his ideas and adding fantastic elements.

– The artist pays special attention to female images. In the paintings of Moreau, women are represented in a wide variety of roles, ranging from virtuous Danae, to ferocious Sphynx woman.

– Most of the paintings by Moreau are filled with numerous additional details; mostly these are beautiful luxury items: jewelries, carpets, bouquets of exotic flowers and fancy clothes. The artist himself was a connoisseur of expensive and rare things. He believed that art should not be cheap and affordable for the majority. Perhaps, that is why Moreau rarely sold his paintings and tried to rarely exhibit them, thinking that his painting was aimed at particular connoisseurs of fine art. According to Theophile Gautier, a famous art expert, Moreau’s painting, “…so strange, unusual for an eye and so much mature in its originality, is created for a picky, knowledgeable and polite viewer”.

– The ambiguous and mysterious canvases of Moreau caused a strong reaction among contemporary critics and the public; they were a reason for quarrels of art experts and a subject of admiration of young artists looking for new methods and non-standard solutions. The work of Gustave Moreau became a basis for the emergence of several art movements and a role model for a whole generation of Symbolist artists.