Art Movement Report:

Symbolism
Key information
Symbolism began in the 1880s and ended in the
1910s. The term Symbolism was first used in
1886 by Gustave Kahn and Jean Moras.
Symbolism was both an artistic and literary
movement which portrays ideas through symbols
and highlights the meaning behind the forms,
lines, shapes and colours. Some symbolism art
Ferdinand Hodler http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artis
demonstrate that the tradition of representational
The Chosen ts/hodler_ferdinand.html
art has ended, which comes from classical times. 1893-94
Symbolism can also be seen as the face of
modernism.

Symbolism came about, as it was a reaction against the moralism, rationalism and materialism. The
emphasis on emotions, feelings, ideas and subjectivity is what unites various artists associated with
symbolism. The artwork often has a deep meaning behind them, which creates a story for the viewer, but
it is often difficult to identify what the meaning is.
http://www.theartstory.org/movement-symbolism.htm#key_ideas_header

Symbolism, a loosely organized literary and artistic movement that originated with a group of
French poets in the late 19th century, spread to painting and the theatre, and influenced the
European and American literatures of the 20th century to varying degrees. Symbolist artists
sought to express individual emotional experience through the subtle and suggestive use of highly
symbolized language.
https://www.britannica.com/art/Symbolism-literary-and-artistic-movement

Key features
Emphasis on emotions, feelings, ideas and subjectivity.
Symbolism can be seen as the face of modernism.
Is both an artistic and literary movement.
Came about in result of a reaction against moralism, rationalism and materialism.
There is often a deep meaning behind the artwork, which creates a story for the viewer.
Symbolist artists are thought to express their own emotional experiences through their subtle and
suggestive artwork.
Ideas through symbols and highlights the meaning behind the forms, lines, shapes and
colours.
2 Key Artists
Hugo Simberg
Key information

Simbergs landscape and portrait paintings are fairly straightforward, although most of his work
is in a highly distinctive symbolist vein. Drawing on his countries rich folk traditions. Simberg
usually worked on a small scale, his medium included many watercolours, drawings and etchings.
Simberg was quoted to have a quite wonderful gift by Gallen-Kallela, as his artworks seem like
sermons that everyone must listen to.
http://www.leninimports.com/hugo_simberg.html

Simberg was known for his unique paintings, blending realistic with fantasy, also often using odd
figures, such as devils and trolls. Simberg was commissioned to decorate St Johns church in
Tampere, now known as Tampere Cathedral. A red-winged serpent of Paradise was painted on the
ceiling, which sparked off considerable protests. It was later removed. The Finnish National
Gallerys archive collection reveals Simberg to also be a talented photographer in his own right.
https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-photographs-of-hugo-simberg/

Key features
Drawing on his countries rich folk traditions.
Medium included many watercolours, drawings and etchings.
Decorated St Johns church in Tampere.
Simberg is revealed to also be a talented photographer by The Finnish National Gallerys archive.
Known for his unique paintings, blending realistic with fantasy.

Hugo Simberg http://www.simbergintoinenmaailm Hugo Simberg http://www.simbergintoinenmaailm

Devotion a.fi/en/works/devotion/ The Wounded Angel a.fi/en/works/the-wounded-angel/
1895 1903
Devotion
This is a painting of Simberg and his wife Anni Bremer. The painting is to portray how Simberg truly is, within his
life and with his family. The angelic effect given from the wings are to convey that Simberg was an attentive and
devoted father. That is what he used as the inspiration for this painting.

There is a lot of colour used within this

artwork this makes it more eye-
catching. The art posses a bold black
stroke around the subject matters, this
helps them to dominate in the canvas so
they overpower the background.

The medium Simberg used to create

this was watercolour and gouache.
Gouache unlike watercolour is opaque;
the white of the paper surface does not
show through.

Watercolour was used, as it is a water-

soluble paint with semi-transparent
properties, this gives a natural
luminosity to the washes of colour.
Hugo Simberg http://www.simbergintoinenmaailm
Devotion a.fi/en/works/devotion/
1895

It is clear that this artwork is linked to the Symbolism movement going on between the 1880s - 1910s. It
is clear that the Symbolism movement influenced his work as there is a deep meaning behind this
artwork, linking to the fact that the artwork in the Symbolism movement often has a deep meaning
behind it. This also helps to create a story about this artwork.

http://www.simbergintoinenmaailma.fi/en/works/devotion/
The Wounded Angel
This artwork is of two sullen boys carrying a stretcher, bearing an angel dressed in white. You can clearly
see that the angel is injured and her eyes covered by a bandage. You cannot actually tell what has
happened or what this artwork is about.

There are many interpretations on what

this one art piece I about, but many suggest
Simberg wanted this to be the case. When
this artwork was first displayed in the
Finnish Art Society, there was a dash
instead of a title, meaning this was the
artists way of saying no single, correct
interpretation exists. So every viewer can
create their own meaning for themselves, so
that they can interpret it in a personal way.

This artwork spent many years in the

making. At first the angel was being pushed
in a wagon by small devils.

The artwork was also created using Hugo Simberg http://www.simbergintoinenmaailm

watercolour and gouache The Wounded Angel a.fi/en/works/the-wounded-angel/
1903
(As is most, if not all
his work). However in this
one there is more detail behind the subject matter.

In the first complete version, the angels hair is shown to be darker and damp; also a small rowing boat is
seen in the distance.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/w/watercolour
http://www.simbergintoinenmaailma.fi/en/works/devotion/
Key Links
As in Symbolism there is always a deep meaning behind each and every artwork, although each artwork
has a strong meaning to it, they are often more fantasy and mystical rather than being actually real.

You can see in The Wounded Angel that there are 2 sullen boys carrying an injured angel, although the
meaning is unclear, you are able to tell that there is serious reasoning behind this artwork, but it clearly
has never actually happened. This is where Symbolism differs from realism.

Symbolism and Realism both have deep meanings behind the artworks; the only difference is that in the
Realism artworks, the artworks are about real events that have happened in life. Unlike Symbolism which
is more personal to the artist alone, and often has a hidden meaning that no-one will ever know, but this
creates more interest in the artworks as many interpretations are created.

Ilya Repin http://www.theartstory.org/movemen

Barge Haulers on the Volga t-realism-artworks.htm#pnt_8
1870-73

There is clear links to the Realism art movement, giving Simberg the inspiration to create his personal
and symbolic artwork. The artwork is about when a team of poor, downtrodden workers had to pull a
ship upstream. You can see that very similar mediums have been used between Repins and Simbergs
artwork. Through the soft and gentle brush strokes and the blending looks angelic. Although its clear
Simberg has been influenced by Realism, there is a lot less detail is his work although it was made more
recently.
http://www.theartstory.org/movement-realism-artworks.htm#pnt_8
Paul Gauguin
Key information

French post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin was an important figure in the Symbolist art
movement of the early 1900s. Gauguin created his own unique painting style, much like he
crafted his own distinctive path through life. His use of bold colours, exaggerated body
proportions and stark contrasts in his paintings set him apart from his contemporaries, helping to
pave the way for the Primitivism art movement.

https://www.biography.com/people/paul-gauguin-9307741

Gauguin began his formal education and eventually joined the merchant marine (compulsory at
the time) at age seventeen. Three years later Gauguin joined the French Navy. Returning to Paris in
1872, Gauguin took up work as a stockbroker. Gauguin also took to frequently visiting galleries,
and eventually he rented his own artist's studio. He painted Impressionist landscapes, still lifes and
interiors heavily influenced not only by Pissarro but also by Paul Czanne, whom he had met
through Pissarro.
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-gauguin-paul.htm

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gaug/hd_gaug.htm

Key features
Was an important figure in the Symbolist art movement.
Created his own unique painting style.
Painted Impressionist landscapes, still lifes and interiors.
Influenced by Pissarro and Paul Cezanne.
Use of bold colours, exaggerated body proportions and stark contrasts in his paintings set him apart
from his contemporaries.

Paul Gauguin http://www.theartstory.org/artist- Paul Gauguin http://www.theartstory.org/artist-

'Les Miserables' gauguin-paul-artworks.htm#pnt_3 Vision after the Sermon gauguin-paul-artworks.htm#pnt_3
1888 1888
Self Portrait Les Miserables
Before Gauguin departed for Aries in late 1888, Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh sent each other examples
of their respected artwork. Including a number of self portraits, this composition was included within the
exchanges.

In this art piece Gauguin resembles

himself to be, in full profile, the fictional
character Jean Valjean, the morally
upright hero of Victor Hugos Les
Miserables (1862). Gauguin connects
himself with Valjean as they both have a
solemn look, tousled hair and tired eyes.
In this artwork, Gauguin is clearly trying
to draw comparisons between himself
and Valjean. The cheerful floral pattern
on the wall was Gauguins way of
testifying to our artistic virginity.

There is high contrast between the

subject matter and the background,
Paul Gauguin http://www.theartstory.org/artist-
helping him to dominate in the canvas. 'Les Miserables' gauguin-paul-artworks.htm#pnt_3
1888

This artwork relates strongly to the art movement Symbolism as Gauguin is expressing his thoughts in
his subtle and suggestive artwork, as Gauguin feels he shares similarities to Valjean who was branded as
a criminal for 1 petty crime.
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-gauguin-paul-artworks.htm#pnt_3
Vision after the Sermon
This artwork represents a significant departure from the art movement of Impressionism. Instead of
Gauguin choosing to paint pastoral landscape or urban entertainments, Gauguin chose a rural Biblical
scene of praying women envisioning Jacob wrestling with an angel.

The red used in this artwork connotes

that this is related to violence.

The way Gauguin came to the decision

to paint on a religious subject was
because of the Renaissance tradition. It
is clear that Gauguins painting is
influenced by Japanese prints, except his
composition and subject matter is his
own.

Gauguin liked to emphasis bold lines

and flat areas of colours in his work, this
helped to make each asset on his
artworks clearly visible, and to
dominate over anything behind it.
Paul Gauguin http://www.theartstory.org/artist-
Vision after the Sermon gauguin-paul-artworks.htm#pnt_3
1888

In portraying the praying women Gauguin experimented with distorting shapes, exaggerating features,
and use of strong contour lines instead of steady shifts in tone that most painters practiced.
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-gauguin-paul-artworks.htm#pnt_3
Key Links
Although Gauguin created his own unique painting style, it is clear to see that throughout out his work,
the inspiration has come from something, which he has then added upon to make it into his own.

In Gauguins Self Portrait Les Miserables, you can see that the stroke around the subject matter is faint,
as well as the stroke around all the elements. Gauguin clearly wanted to blend his elements together to
make it look elegant, however on his other artwork, Vision after the Sermon; Gauguin has emphasized
the bold lines surrounding each angel. In this artwork Gauguin has also not blended his colours at all. So
this gives an idea that Gauguin has been inspired by different people in both artworks.

You can clearly see that Pissaro had a massive influence on

Gauguins Les Miserables artwork, although Pissarro kept his
work very rough and bumpy looking, Gauguin changed it to his
own style and made his own look smooth and calm. You can see
that Pissarro blended everything on his canvas in very well, only
the odd sharp line to outline important elements, such as the
house and the body. Gauguins also did this with the subject
matter in his artwork.

Camille Pissarro https://www.wikiart.org

Pere Melon Cutting Wood /en/camille-
1880 pissarro/pere-melon-
cutting-wood-1880

In Vision on the Sermon, Gauguins style changed compared

to his Self Portrait, this is because his inspiration came from
elsewhere. Paul Cezanne uses bold strokes throughout his
whole artwork; this makes it very clear to look at for the
viewer. There are small amounts of blending in the wall and
throughout the artwork, but not much. Once again Gauguin
changed this into his own style. Gauguin actually decreased
the amount of blending Cezanne did, but kept his stroke style,
of which you can clearly see in his artwork.

Paul Czanne https://theartist.me/c

Curtain, Jug and Fruit Bowl ollection/oil-
1894 painting/curtain-jug-
fruit-bowl/