What is a Symbolist?

A Symbolist—especially in art and literature—is someone who uses symbols to express ideas, emotions, and states of being that are often abstract, spiritual, or psychological rather than literal or descriptive.

In Art:

Symbolist artists emerged in the late 19th century as a response to realism and naturalism. They sought to represent the invisible, the internal, and the metaphysical—things like dreams, death, love, fear, and the divine—through indirect, poetic, and symbolic means.

Key Traits of Symbolist Art:

• Evocative, dreamlike, often mystical imagery

• Use of myth, allegory, and archetypes

• Emphasis on emotion, mood, and inner experience over realism

• Frequently infused with themes of decadence, eroticism, melancholy, or spirituality

Notable Symbolist Artists:

• Gustave Moreau – mythical, visionary subjects

• Odilon Redon – surreal, otherworldly works with deep psychological tones

• Fernand Khnopff – quiet, haunting figures and scenes

• Arnold Böcklin – moody, mythic paintings like Isle of the Dead

In Literature:

Symbolist writers like Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Rimbaud used metaphor, suggestion, and rhythm to evoke feelings rather than explain. They believed language should gesture toward meaning, not define it.

Symbolism’s Legacy:

Symbolism laid groundwork for movements like Surrealism, Expressionism, and Modernism, and its emphasis on the unseen still resonates in contemporary art that explores memory, trauma, spirituality, or dreams.

If you’re drawn to exploring internal worlds, metaphors for the ineffable, or visual poetry in your work, there’s likely a strong Symbolist current already running through it. Want to explore how Symbolism might intersect with your work conceptually?