SYMBOLISM IN BELGIUM Belgium Art Of Our Time

Belgian Symbolism was unique for its predilection for morbid and decadent subject matter. In the mid-19th century, Antoine Wiertz introduced death and decline as leitmotifs in art, which were taken up by a range of artists, from sculptors such as George Minne to the master of the absurd, James Ensor. Depending on the way one looks at it, modern art possesses either a good or an evil element, which might be termed the universal encyclopedia of the visual and moral arts. This element, always latent, seems to have affected Europe in both the 16th and 19th centuries and it introduced what has been termed the Mannerist and Symbolist periods. In so far as Symbolism in Belgium is concerned -- for that is what this book is about -- I would situate the period between 1880 and 1914, not neglecting a strong undercurrent reaching back at least to the 16th century and probably even earlier -- to medieval thought and philosophy." (foreword). Out of Print. Condition: Near Fine.