The Old Town Magick art collection

Symbolism Art & Prints

Symbolism emphasised ideas, feeling and suggestion rather than the straightforward description of the visible world.

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About Symbolism Art

In the later nineteenth century, artists drew on dreams, mythology, spirituality and personal imagination to create evocative images. Unusual figures, flowers, landscapes or colours could carry emotional significance without forming a simple narrative. Symbolist artists worked in varied styles and did not share one complete visual dictionary.

Historical Symbolism differs from symbolism in art more generally. A flower can have symbolic meaning in a much earlier painting without making that work Symbolist. Explore the artist, date and specific setting before assigning an interpretation.

Characteristics

Symbolism privileges suggestion, imagination and inner experience over a straightforward account of visible reality. Myths, dreams, religious imagery and private inventions can create a world that feels psychologically charged without offering a complete story. An isolated figure, a strange flower or an unfamiliar landscape may act as an invitation to interpretation rather than a message with one correct translation.

The movement embraces very different surfaces: meticulous finish, decorative colour, dark charcoal and visionary lithography can all serve Symbolist purposes. Compare atmosphere and association as well as the objects shown. The same motif may mean different things in different artists' work, and a modern symbolism glossary cannot replace the source image's context. Symbolist interests overlap with Art Nouveau and help prepare later Surrealist experiments, but the categories are not interchangeable. Art containing symbols is much broader than the historical movement. The original artist, date and medium make it possible to distinguish a Symbolist work from an older allegory or a contemporary symbolic design.

Notable artists & makers

  • Odilon Redon — Created visionary images in charcoal, lithography and richly coloured later work.
  • Gustave Moreau — Built densely imagined scenes from myth and religious narrative.
  • Arnold Böcklin — Known for landscapes and figures that create a sustained atmosphere of mystery.

Notable works

Historical examples for context. Where a print is available in our collection, the work links to its product page.

  • The Isle of the Dead — Arnold Böcklin — A motif developed in several versions, combining still water, architecture and a silent arrival.
  • Oedipus and the Sphinx — Gustave Moreau — A mythological encounter transformed into an intensely concentrated image.

Explore Symbolism Art in the collection

Historical art prints are modern reproductions. Dates and attributions describe the original artworks.

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    Sources & further reading