Alexandre Séon

A French Symbolist painter, decorator and illustrator, art theorist.

Alexander Seon was one of the most talented pupils of Puvis de Chavannes, and later his partner at the art studio. Together with Josephine Peladan and Antoine de la Rochefoucauld, he founded “the Rose-Cross Salon”, in which the works of leading Symbolist artists from France, Belgium and other countries were exhibited. The painter’s canvases were approved by the public and got positive reviews from contemporary critics; his literary works were very popular among followers of Symbolism.

Key ideas:

– Alexander Seon was one of those artists who immediately chose their creative path. He did not experiment with color and form (not counting the very short hobby of pointillism), as his contemporaries did, and did not create new art movements. The artist’s work is so self-sufficient and holistic that it goes beyond a time frame and changeable fashion.

– Paintings of Seon are made in the traditions of pure Symbolism with its philosophy and depth of images. They depict mainly mythological scenes in which there are chimeras and mermaids, goddesses and nymphs, as well as brooding girls on the seashore.

– From 1894, the artist made frequent trips to the island of Brehat in Brittany, where he painted seaside landscapes, beaches and rocks. These views become the frequent, and later the main theme of his paintings.

– Among the creative heritage of Alexander Seon, there are a large number of portraits, the most famous of which, of course, is the image of Josephine Peladan. The writer, artist and spiritual mentor of the Symbolists, Peladan is depicted as a magician in a purple mantle with a mysterious profile and a lush black beard.

– The artist’s work is distinguished by its abundant decoration and scope. Seon created the paintings of a wedding palace in the city of Courbevoie and several large-scale projects that, unfortunately, were not destined to be realized.

– In addition, the artist was an art theorist who studied the nature of color and lines in painting. It was Alexander Seon who said, “The inclined to the right lines associated with warm colors express happiness and joy, while the descending to the left and diagonal lines associated with cold colors show melancholy and despondency.” This observation has been confirmed in practice and has become an unspoken rule among artists.