symbolism in art is a title used for a short period in the timeline of art movements.

But,
symbolistic characteristics are seen both previously and after this official categorization.
Symbolism in art has existed in art from the first cave paintings to the latest commercials on TV.
As humans, our brains interpret visual imagery in a non linear holistic images which means we
see in pictures. ictures have meaning and an interpretation that is relative to the viewer.
Symbols involve everything from gestures to language. Some languages developed from a
pictographic origins, but all use symbols agreed upon to have specific meaning. !rom the
images we see in dreams to the red light that tells us to stop we all find some meaning in what
we see. Symbolism is "ust a category within the art world that showed the world that images
have meaning. #veryone $nows a picture of a heart can represent love, but what the color red
represents can mean many different things depending on where you are from. %ulture plays a
big part in the interpretations of symbols. But &hat about the collective unconscious developed
by 'ung or !reud(s cigar. There is data to support the idea that symbols from dreams are
universal. The )uestion about symbols having meaning is not the issue, it is why and what is the
importance of that meaning. There seems to be an origin and purpose for all symbols in the
human consciousness. But, that is a )uestion for another time, for this discussion we will focus
on the movement and meaning of symbolism in painting. The art movement called symbolism in
painting was a result and cause of two other distinct art movements *omanticism and
neoclassicism. Although the movement itself was a short period of time the use of symbols have
been used in art since the first cave drawings. Ac$nowledging the past uses of symbols,
regardless of the overall style the wor$ belongs to, shows the innate response humans have
with symbols. As previously stated the first artist doing cave paintings were probably the
shamans and used the drawings as symbols of animals to inspire attitudes that benefitted the
people. The use of male and female symbols in prehistory is unavoidable. +mages of robust
women inspired fertility and "ewelry represented status among early civilizations. The use of
symbols in our lives is endless and unavoidable. ,uman nature demands that we distinguish
our individual self from others. + suppose the ego becomes the most basic symbol that we find
unable to avoid expressing. -ur visual appearance, cloths, haircut, and car become the
symbolic story of ourselves.
All artistic movements exhibit a part of the human consciousness ,realism, classicism,
romanticism even the big ones li$e the renaissance are exposing a visual expression of the
human psyche. But, by the mid ./00s, society was headed directly towards a new area of
expression, the individual human mind. Art was becoming more accessible and now becoming
part of the common man(s world. This expression was called conceptual art. The artist still
created, often without formal training which was new to the art world. But the viewer also with
uneducated eyes was becoming part of the art world experience. The concept of the individual
as co1creator of the art was not yet realized but that was what was happening. The individual
was viewing art and creating their own definition or story regardless of their perspective. The
movement called symbolism gave the viewer a way to see art and understand it in their own
way. The use of familiar images and those not so familiar gave the viewer the tools to create a
story and opinion about art.
Symbolism helped bring about surrealism and then artistic abstractions li$e
+mpressionism ,modern art, and eventually conceptual art in general. &hat ma$es conceptual
art uni)ue is that the individual now is the critic and "udge of what is art . The individual now has
his own view that ma$es a personal impression for what is called art. ,ow are the symbolic
nature of that art effecting the individual viewer. Art becomes a symbolic "ourney for the
individual whether it is pure abstraction or a literal use of a recognizable symbols. The individual
sees their own story in the art. *egardless of the artist intent each painting will form a story
within the individual uni)ue to that individual. Symbolism gave a name to what the viewer
already did, respond to art in a personal perspective.