Many artists in the late 19th century broke from naturalistic representation and sought visual equivalents to poetry and music.
c. 1880 - 1910
Beginner's guides
videos + essays
We're adding new content all the time!
James Ensor, The Fall of the Rebel Angels
As you look closer, Ensor’s chaotic abstraction transforms into a dynamic battle scene between good and evil.
Gustave Moreau, Jupiter and Semele
Moreau paints with brilliant jewel-like colors, and everywhere we look the figures seem filled with Melancholy.
Broncia Koller, Sitting (Seated Nude Marietta)
By the early 1930s, Broncia Koller’s career was lost to art history, despite her extraordinary artistic talent and insight.
Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell
If visitors know one thing about Barcelona before boarding a plane, it is the surname of the city’s most celebrated architect, Antoni Gaudí
Gustave Moreau, Salome
Learn more about this symbolist painter's enigmatic depictions of one of his favorite subjects—Salome.
James Ensor, Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889
The painting mocks humanity, as well as human beliefs and institutions, both civic and religious.
The Nabis and Decorative Art
Through their many forms of artistic production the Nabis expanded art into all areas of life.
The Nabis and Symbolism
Symbolist artists embraced the spiritual significance of art while rejecting science and objectivity.
Louis Comfort Tiffany, Vase
Inspired by the sheen of ancient Roman and Syrian glass, Tiffany created startling, modern objects.
Louis Comfort Tiffany, Hair Ornament
Only three inches high, Tiffany captures an ephemeral moment in nature with the most sumptuous materials.
Léon Bakst, “Costume design for the ballet The Firebird”
Bakst loved this character from Russian folklore, and made a drawing influenced by Cubism and Parisian aesthetics.
