Symbolism
象徴主義 / 1886–1910 / Style / Symbolism and Ornament
An international movement that sought to visualise the inner life through forms and colours suggesting dream, myth and idea, rather than describing the outer world. Blurred contours, closed eyes, ornamentalised plants and emblems are placed as presences whose meaning is never spelled out. It created the vocabulary of fin-de-siècle posters and book decoration.
Subjects of dream and myth / Contours that dissolve into vagueness / Ornamentalised plants and emblems / A deep, muted colour range
Dictionary entry
- Best used for
- Book covers and album art that trade in mood and suggestion rather than statement · Fragrance, wine or literary branding wrapped in myth and reverie
- Type
- Elongated fin-de-siècle serifs or hand-drawn titling with vegetal terminals
- Composition
- Centred, icon-like figures veiled by ornament; borders of stylised plants closing the frame
- Material
- Deep muted purples, greens and golds; smoky gradients that dissolve contour
- Caution
- Avoid explaining the image; once the symbol is decoded into a single stated meaning, the atmosphere of suggestion evaporates.
- Further study
- The exchange with literary Symbolism / Fin-de-siècle book decoration / How to keep a distance between ornament and meaning