The painting mocks humanity, as well as human beliefs and institutions, both civic and religious.
Symbolism & Art Nouveau
Nabi paintings do not allow viewers to get lost in the represented scene and forget that they are looking at colors applied to a surface.
The Nabis and Decorative Art
In the modern period artists recognized that the well-being of society and all its members were supported and enhanced by well-designed objects, buildings, and spaces.
Art Nouveau
Symbolist artists embraced the spiritual significance of art while rejecting science and objectivity.
The Nabis and Symbolism
Inspired by the sheen of ancient Roman and Syrian glass, Tiffany created startling, modern objects.
Louis Comfort Tiffany, Vase
Only three inches high, Tiffany captures an ephemeral moment in nature with the most sumptuous materials.
Louis Comfort Tiffany, Hair Ornament
Bakst loved this character from Russian folklore, and made a drawing influenced by Cubism and Parisian aesthetics.
Léon Bakst, “Costume design for the ballet ...
The anxiety felt by the women waiting for husbands sailing on a stormy sea is almost tangible in Munch’s picture.
Edvard Munch, The Storm
These mass-produced structures brought a new kind of art from the homes of the Parisian elite into the streets.
Hector Guimard, Cité entrance, Métropolitain, Paris
Entranced by the evil of the human psyche, we come face to face with art history’s creepiest snake.
Franz von Stuck, The Sin
With gold that recalls a Byzantine art, Klimt created a modern icon in this cosmic and eternal painting.
Gustav Klimt, The Kiss
Originally part of a total work of art, this frieze was accompanied by a sculpture of Beethoven and music by him.
Gustav Klimt, Beethoven Frieze
“Everything is illusory and death comes for us all!” proclaims this cheerful self-portrait.
Arnold Böcklin, Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle
Death comes to everyone—peasant, priest, or prince. Here, Death menaces interconnected bodies… with a club.
Gustav Klimt, Death and Life
This straightforward painting nevertheless shows its Symbolist sympathies through the eyes of a young girl.
Fernand Khnopff, Jeanne Kéfer
Munch sought to express internal emotions, providing a visual equivalent for a universal human experience.
Edvard Munch, The Scream
This enigmatic painting haunts, suggests, and evokes—but it refuses to reveal all of its secrets.
Fernand Khnopff, I Lock my Door Upon ...
This church contains traditional Gothic elements, but looks like nothing you’ve ever seen.
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