Gustave Moreau
See also:  [Symbolism]
           

Gustave Moreau

On this page:  {Intro}
               {Stuff}



Intro




Stuff

The surrealists and symbolists were trying at one and the same time
to express the same things; ie, something beyond the obvious/known/etc.

When we look at Moreau's paintings we must be reminded that for
many religous painters of the prior times, the painting of not
only the living god/saviour/prophet but the representation of
evil (eg, Durerer's potrtayal of death and the devil) took the
painter as materialist to the edges of the imagined un-seen.

So, for me his "Salome" (ususally sub-titled as "the visitation")
represents this artistic leap into the absolute understanding of
the un-seen, the un-imaginable, and the un-real itself. 

And yet, within this same construct of the artist as searcher, is
of course the dread that we all feel of living in the times that
we do; ie, that surely this is the time of greatest hope, the greatest
of achievements of man's inventiveness - and yet, the times of darkness
caused by greed, intollerance, and of course their child: War.

And throughout all of these times, many take faith in faith alone, as
if that could deliver them from the times and hardships that they see
all around them. Unfortunately, these same "faiths" have more often 
than not been used as levers to separate people, turn them against 
each other, and warp them to the desires of the power brokers.

Somehow, the artist, such as Moreau, must try to escape all of this,
and find some guiding vision that allows us to see what is really
happening. Of course, most people don't wnt to know what is really
happening, they prefer to believe the lies set down by the kings,
churches, and leaders of their society - for the alternative of 
striking out on one's own to find (or at least to search) for 
something resembling the truth.





Major works:
                       
                     


Chronology