Symbolism in art and fashion

Symbolism: death, evil, Arnold Bocklin Symbolist painter, writer, occultist, Belgian symbolist: 1867-1953... Symbolism: death, evil, mysterious “Mysteriosa” Jean Deville 1892 Portrait of

symbolism

Suneel Talekar-M Sc Fashion Design

bOY gIRL

(darker sides of Romanticism)

“Art should show more absolute

truths which could only be seen

Imagination

Spirituality

So urc e o f

ins piratio n

Bo rro we d imag e s fro m

s ymbo lis t writing s

Biblic al

re fe re nc e s &

anc ie nt myth

Traditio nal Appro ac h

Co mmo n the me s

Symbolism: death, evil,

Arnold Bocklin

Symbolist painter, writer,

occultist, Belgian symbolist: 1867-1953

Symbolism: death, evil,

mysterious

“Mysteriosa” Jean Deville (1892)

(Portrait of Mrs Stuart Merrill)

Aura: Enlighten, developed to another

stage Upward gaze

Hot colors: earthly fires

of passion & sensuality Upward triangle: perfect human knowledge, achieved through magic Mood: mystery, intrigue, magical, supernatural Mediumistic character

Symbolism: death, evil,

mysterious

Well-known artists for

this type of symbolisms

He had 11 children and 5 of them

died in infancy

Swiss-German symbolist: 1827-1901

Jean Delville Arnold Bocklin

Self-Portrait with Death

playing the fiddle (1872)

Skeleton: death, dark

spirit, mortality life?

Symbolism: death, evil,

disassociation

Contrasting colors

Symbolism and Mythology

• Biblical and Greek mythology continues

• Symbolists

- mythology &dream >> visual language of soul

- symbols >> personal, private, obscure, and ambiguous

Gus tave Moreau (1826-1898)

- symphonic poems

- bright, jewel-like color, luxurious effect

- woman >> destruction and chaos (mostly)

Oedipus and the sphinx

• Title : Oedipus and the sphinx (1864) Oil on

canvas

• The position of sphinx : more prominent

than Oedipus, full of details, latches on

Oedipus’ s chest

• Oedipus’s immobile and expressionless : the man is too helpless to fight in the world full with terrible things

• The sphinx’s expression : anxious

• The cloudy bluish-gray sky : the fate of

Oedipus

( July 7, 1833 - August 23, 1898)

Belgian artist

Lover of the fantastic and the supernatural

Symbolic themes such as the devil, skeletons, the prostitute, and death dominated his work

Many demonstrated his belief that women dominated men and the devil dominated women

Woman is Satan’s accomplice, provokes the most extreme vices and torments in Man

Félicien Rops

Franz Stuck

• (February 24, 1863 - August 30, 1928)

• German Symbolist/Art Nouveau painter, sculptor, engraver, and architect

• His seductive female

nudes, in the role of the

femme fatale, are a

prime example of

popular Symbolist

content

Femme Fatale

• “Deadly woman"

• Alluring and seductive woman whose

charms ensnare(lure) her lovers in bonds

The Sin (1893)

• Femme Fatale  dangers of the destructive female temptation

• The snake has a threatening open mouth, while the woman looks provocatively at the viewer

• The symbolic content implies the danger of sexual

desire as personified by the mysterious seductress

• The title invokes a reminder of the repression of

sexual desire caused by religious mandate

Symbolism & Women

1 Femme Fatale versus Angelic woman

– seductive woman whose charms spurs irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous and deadly situations

– Nạve, angel-like woman who portrays a sense of purity

2 Female biological life-cycle

– Virginity

– Motherhood

Angelic Woman

Maurice Denis – Annunciation (1912)

• Wings of angels is a symbol of Sainthood

• Sunlight is the opposite

meaning of darkness

Femme Fatale

Sphinx or leopard body:

Represents a hybrid monster, sin, and cruelty

Scepter: Power and

status

Fernand Khnopff -The Caresses (1896)

Virgin girl as a symbol

Puvis de Chavannes - Hope

- Truth

- Purity

- Strength

Eugene Carriere – Tendresse

• Woman & child constitutes an equally

prevalent, time honored theme

• Individual identities are transformed to become symbols

of emotional state of

Femme Fatale

• Tempting feminine figure

• Poised in her dance holding

a lotus flower

• Powerfully mysterious & exotic

Gustave Moreau – Salome (1876)

Les Diaboliques (1886)

T H A N K S