Symbolism in art
A movement that used suggestive images and personal or mythic symbols to express ideas beyond direct observation.
Example
Symbolist works at Orsay reward reading the title and repeated motifs before treating the scene as literal narrative.
Sources: musee-orsay.fr
Related terms
Art movements
Romanticism
A movement that emphasised emotion, imagination, dramatic action and individual experience.
Art movements
Surrealism
A twentieth-century movement that explored dreams, chance and unexpected combinations to challenge ordinary...
Art movements
Impressionism
A late nineteenth-century movement associated with visible brushwork, changing light and subjects drawn from modern...
Art movements
Post-Impressionism
A broad label for artists who developed distinct structural, symbolic or expressive approaches after Impressionism.
