What do we know about 19th century artists? Big names are heard by everyone, but there are those who remained unknown to the world. Each of them made a contribution to art with their canvases. The artist Gustave Moreau was one of those who entered the ranks of the great painters, he rightfully takes his place there.
Youth
The French symbolist was born in Paris in the 19th century. He immediately understood who he wanted to be, and therefore he studied at the school of fine arts for a long time. Already from his youth, the orientation in his works was manifested: biblical. He created paintings on mysterious themes, so his works are still fascinating and carry something secret and mystical.
After school, Gustave Moreau decides to enter the academy. Thanks to his father, he was able to stay at the Louvre when he needed to and work there, inspired by the masterpieces of world geniuses. In 1848 Moreau participated in the Grand Prix competition. Both attempts were unsuccessful, and the painter left the academy.
To be inspired, the great artists of the 19th century loved to travel in search of a muse. Moreau went to Italy twice. At this time, he was able to get into all the most beautiful corners of this country: Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples. In addition to the extraordinary architecture of the time, here he studied the Renaissance and famous authors of the time.
Working with the state
In addition to the fact that Gustave Moreau, whose paintings were already a success, worked on his masterpieces, he carried out the order of the state. His task was to create a huge copy of Carracci's painting. Everyone liked the creation, and they made another order for a copy of the painting, but Moreau refused, saying that he wanted his works to be bought, and not copies of his colleagues. After such a statement, Gustave was ordered to create his own canvas.
New stage of creativity
A new stage began with the purchase of housing. The father loved his son very much, so in 1852 he bought him a chic house. From the windows one could see the Saint-Lazare train station, and Moro was noisy nearby and immediately decided to create a personal creative place on one of the floors and get to work. A chic mansion helped and inspired him. Gustave lived in excellent conditions, fulfilling the orders of the state. He gradually became well received in the circles of famous artists.
During this period, he learned about the pregnancy of his girlfriend, who lived in Rome. The painter decided to leave the unfortunate. His mother agreed with this decision, she believed that both the wedding and the small child would destroy the career of the future great painter. This dragged on for several years. Gustave's parents also came here, deciding to accompany the artist on his trips. In Italy he was inspired by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Crivelli and other great artists. Therefore, he brought home sketches and finished canvases, saturated with Italian flavor.
Sudden love and dizzying success
After returning to the capital of France, Moreau begins to work in his mansion, sometimes visiting friends. On one of these evenings he spoke to the governess, Alexandrine Dureau. Sudden light love develops into an incredible passion, but lovers hide their feelings.
The death of his father in 1862 touched the artist, and in his grief he decided to devote himself to art and education. Moreau's creations are in demand, and he is becoming popular both in Paris and far beyond. In the late 60s, Gustave became the head of the jury of the same Grand Prix, in which he was defeated twice in his youth. In the mid-70s, the painter received France's highest award - the Order of the Legion of Honor.
Sunset of creativity
In 1884 Gustave lost his mother. This tragic event did not allow him to calmly create, and for six months he could not work fruitfully. Age also made itself known. Gustave increasingly leaves Paris, travels to other countries, accompanied by his beloved Alexandrine. Already in 1888 he became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts, and after 3 years he became a professor at the Paris School of Art.
In the early 1890s, Alexandrine dies, five years later Gustave finishes his gigantic work "Jupiter and Semele" and decides to organize a museum in his house. The artist died in 1898, was buried in the Montmartre cemetery, his beloved Alexandrine Dureau rests somewhere nearby.
Museum
Before his death, Gustave Moreau, whose biography is rich and vibrant, left his works and property as a legacy to the city. The painter managed to keep a collection of his paintings and sketches, also collected works of great artists, sculptors, rare furniture and other items of the 19th century.
The Gustave Moreau House Museum has now become an unusually popular place in Paris. Although the painter failed to translate his ideas into reality, the Paris City Hall took care of his legacy. The city created an extraordinary house-museum, which now houses the most complete collection of paintings
This "painter's paradise" occupied two floors. On the first - all the walls are hung with works of Moreau. To help future connoisseurs of art, Gustave made descriptions of the paintings; in the museum, these notes were also translated into English. In addition, among the finished works on easels are those that the artist left unfinished.
The second floor is filled with a collection of paintings by other artists, as well as sculptures, antique furniture - everything that Gustave Moreau could collect on his own. At the moment, a pass to the house-museum costs 6 euros for adults, and children under 18 years old are admitted free of charge.
Paintings
Among the paintings that the painter left behind, there are known to everyone and everyone. One of them is "Jupiter and Semele", written two years before the death of the artist. The canvas depicts allegorical figures that carry a certain meaning: Death, Suffering, Night, etc.
The whole space is filled with unusual plants, fantastic architectural solutions and sculptural sculptures. It is also very important that the artist comments on all this abundance of images and fantasies, since it is difficult for the viewer to independently identify all the characters. The very same legend of Semele on the canvas acquires a certain mysticism and mystery.
Analyzing the art of Gustave, it becomes clear his desire for "necessary splendor". The painter argued that we should pay attention to the masters of the past, who will not teach us poor art. The artists of the past tried to display on their canvases only the richest, rarest and most magnificent that was in their time. The outfits that they depicted in their works, jewelry, objects - all this was adopted by Moreau.
Another popular painting by Gustave is The Apparition, which he created in 1876. Like many others, it contains a religious story, in this case, the gospel story. On the canvas, we are talking about Salome, who is dancing in front of Herod, by the head. At this time, the head of John appears in front of Salome, creating a magnificent dazzling radiance.
« The most important thing for me is a fleeting impulse and an incredible craving for abstraction. The expression of human feelings and desires is what really concerns me, although I am less disposed to express these impulses of the soul than to paint what is visible. In other words, I depict flashes of imagination that no one knows how to interpret, but I notice something divine in them, transmitted through amazing plasticity. I see open magical horizons, and all this vision I would call Elevation and Purification.»
— Gustave Moreau (1826-1898)
Gustave Moreau stands out from all the painters of the 19th century. He lived in Paris during the heyday of the Salon exhibitions, during the heyday of the French realists and orientalists, during the Impressionist revolution, but managed to maintain his uniqueness and become a real inspiration for a whole trend of the 20th century - surrealism. And some consider him the founder of Fauvism.
The master visited Italy for the first time in 1841, that is, at the age of 15. He was so inspired by the paintings of Renaissance artists that this trip determined his creative path. About the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he recalled: “The characters in their paintings seem to be asleep in reality, as if they were taken to heaven alive. Their self-absorbing daydreaming is directed to other worlds, not to ours ... ". In general, he was broadcasting like a sorcerer. Yes, I also wrote. The influence of medieval and Renaissance painting is visible in his work with color, composition, perspective.
And what happens to artists who are a little "on their minds", do not accept new fashion trends? That's right - "They don't like them here." During the Second Empire, the public enjoyed rococo, glitz and glamour, and this eccentric sees other dimensions in medieval paintings. Here is what, for example, Auguste Renoir said about him: “ Gustave Moreau is a useless artist! He can't even draw a leg properly. But how does he take everyone, and especially Jewish usurers: gold. Yes, yes, he squeezes so much gold into his paintings that no one can resist! The critic and publicist Castagnari saw his work and said - "Well, some kind of retrograde." And he had a weighty word at the time. But apparently Gustave saw a little more than Castagnari and remained true to his method.
And Moreau's method boiled down to the following: he tried to fix the dream. Doesn't it remind you of anything? Yes, the surrealists did almost this later. And the most famous of them, Salvador Dali, used to fall asleep with a coin in his hand, under which he put a copper basin, so that at the moment when the body falls asleep and the muscles relax, the coin falls out and the sound of its impact on the pelvis wakes him up, so that fix what he managed to see in a dream. Gustave was probably not so direct when he spoke of his "le rêve fixée" (le rêve fixé - stopped dream). He deliberately wanted "to provoke an awakening from the routine lunatic living of life in order to behold higher spiritual realities that are more stimulating than descriptive and imbued with impermanent mystical properties." It is difficult to immediately understand the words of the master sorcerer, but apparently he understands everyday life as a dream from which you can wake up in a physical dream, when the subconscious is freed from the shackles of the mind. And he presents his canvases as the key to this awakening in reality. This is "le rêve fixée".
In general, the idea of such a collision of two worlds was later taken up by Odilon Redon, a prominent representative of symbolism. He said: "Moreau's efforts were aimed at creating a new visual vocabulary that would describe both current issues and general trends." Let's stop here for a bit. Gustave Moreau is considered a Symbolist. But symbolism is very unstable, I will even say more, it is impossible without the context of time. For example, a woman in the painting of the 19th century becomes a fragile sensual being, often associated with her mother, care, tenderness, love. Nevertheless, medieval symbolism, largely based on biblical interpretations, interprets it in the opposite way - unbridled emotions, chaos, irresistible desire, fear, death. (not to be confused with virgin, virgin). And Gustave refers to precisely such interpretations in his works “Salome with the head of Ion the Baptist” and “Oedipus and the Sphinx”. Incidentally, the aforementioned Redon said that it was Oedipus and the Sphinx that inspired him to choose his isolated path in art.
And below is his painting "Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds." This is a story about the third feat of Hercules, when he defeated, with the help of a drum given by Pallas, terrible birds that killed deadly feathers falling from heaven. Hercules struck the drum, the birds soared into the air, and at that moment he shot them with a bow. You can see that the rocks on the canvases are painted, as on the canvases of the masters of the Renaissance. Or even notice a certain similarity with the works of Chinese artists.
And the craving for abstraction and dark tones is clearly visible in his late work "Tomiris and Cyrus". Fighting with the Massagetae, the Persian king Cyrus set a trap for them: he left large stocks of wine, while he himself retreated. The Massagets, having discovered the stocks, immediately got drunk to death, and they were attacked by the Persians, capturing their son Tomiris. Having gathered all her army, she defeated Cyrus, and thrust his head into a wineskin filled with blood. At that time, of course, they did not hear about human rights, but all without exception were conceptualists. And the expression "lose your head" had the most direct meaning. This is what this story is about.
And there was also an interesting case that emphasizes the isolation of Gustave Moreau from other painters of that time. In the Hall of Apollo in the Louvre, Delacroix presented his painting "Apollo defeats Python." The painting was commissioned for the Second Republic, as a symbol of victory over the obscurantism of the past. And Moreau at the same time exposes his Phaethon, which very much resembles Python. But Gustave's Phaeton has not yet been struck by Zeus's lightning. Boldly!
I have not yet mentioned Gustav's craving for ornamentalism, which would later become one of the components of modernism or art nouveau. Moreau sometimes skillfully weaves arabesques and other ornaments into his works, creating the illusion of some kind of magical runes that seem to glow on the canvas and are trying to say something. But it's better to see for yourself:
Gustave Moreau was not very popular in his time. Glory came to him later, after his death. Last time I wrote about, which skillfully felt the spirit of the times, Gustave, on the contrary, bent his own line, despite all the pressure from colleagues and critics, thereby giving food for thought to future generations and actually laying the foundations of surrealism. There is no prophet in his own country, or rather, in his time. I consider it a very important link between the art of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the art of the 20th century. A lost link that was found much later than required. And to some extent much earlier. Here! Let's call him a sorcerer outside of time and space. And therefore, today it is very relevant.
A man with a classical art education and great knowledge in the field of art, Gustave Moreau became one of the leaders of the Symbolists, a movement that gained strength in the second half of the 19th century. Symbolists are often combined with decadents, but Moreau's work is difficult to attribute to any particular branch. His paintings use historical motifs, classical color combinations and avant-garde depiction methods.
By birth, Gustave Moreau was a Parisian, where he was born in 1826 in a family that was quite close to art - his father was an architect. The future artist studied at the Paris School of Fine Arts, and already in 1849 he began to exhibit at the Salon. He was interested in samples of historical painting and the work of old masters, so he made several trips to where he studied the surviving creations of the best masters of the Renaissance.
His work was seriously influenced by motifs that were often used in the paintings of famous artists of the past - historical, biblical, legendary, fabulous, epic. From here the master drew ideas for his future paintings with a pronounced mystical beginning, characteristic of symbolism. However, unlike the classical motifs of paintings, his style of depiction was completely advanced, in the spirit of the time, with the search for special effects and the author's handwriting.
Moreau's work was recognized and appreciated by his contemporaries. In 1868 he became chairman of an art competition, and in 1875 his achievements in art were marked by the Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest award given for services to the French Republic.
The artist was fond of the classical art of ancient Greece, he was very fond of oriental luxury, richly decorated utensils and dishes, rare expensive weapons, fabrics and carpets. In his paintings on mystical, biblical and historical motifs, he often used these objects of rare beauty, admiring their perfection and beautiful colors. The master's painting is recognizable and quite specific, it uses many bright colors, but by some miracle they manage not to become a motley collection of colors, but to give the impression of wholeness and unity of the image and its embodiment. The paintings are very expressive and amaze with mastery of color. Even well-known motives from the Bible are interpreted by him in his own way, very individually and non-trivially.
In 1888 Gustave Moreau became a member of the French Academy of Arts and in 1891 began teaching as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. Among those whom he taught are such famous masters as Odilon Redon, Georges Rouault and Gustave Pierre. It is believed that Moreau's paintings had a very strong influence on the formation of Fauvism and Surrealism.
Five years after the death of Gustave Moreau in 1898, a museum was organized in his Parisian workshop. His works are in many worlds, including in.
Nov. 20th, 2015 | 12:58 p.m.
A hermit in the heart of Paris - that's what his contemporaries called Moreau. The artist really paid little attention to the life around him, his interests lay exclusively in the field of art. Despite this, attention to him was unrelenting: Moreau's paintings were widely known, had a great influence on his contemporaries, and sold well. During his lifetime, the artist became the idol of the Symbolists, although he himself did not consider himself a Symbolist. In this case, time agreed with the majority: Gustave Moreau entered the history of art precisely as a symbolist.
Fairy with griffins, 1876
Gustave Moreau spent almost his entire creative life in house number 14 on La Rochefoucauld Street, bought by his father specifically to organize his son's art workshop there. Here the artist lived, loved and worked for more than 45 years: from 1852 to 1898. When his health deteriorated sharply, Moreau decided to turn this dwelling into a public collection of his works. He converted the top two floors into an exhibition space and bequeathed the house to the state, along with the paintings and all the furnishings. And so this small house-museum - a continuation of the life and will of the artist, consider it a continuation of himself.
Photo - Wikipedia
I went to the Moreau Museum not only to look at the paintings, but also to feel the atmosphere that surrounded the artist, to see the atmosphere where he lived. Alas, it was not possible to get into the living rooms, so I take photos of the interiors from the network.
Artist's room. Photo - Wikipedia
Eliza de Romilly. Portrait of Gustave Moreau. 1874
In the autumn of 1859, Moreau met a young woman, Alexandrine Dure, who worked as a governess near his studio. Alexandrine did not become Moreau's wife, but they lived in a house on Rue La Rochefoucauld in love and harmony for more than 30 years.
Felix Nadar. Portrait of Alexandrine Dure. 1883
The boudoir is the living room of the hostess. Photo: http://www.smarterparis.com/reviews/musee-national-gustave-moreau
One of my goals was a beautiful spiral staircase leading from the second floor of the workshop to the third. I saw a lot of her pictures on the net, but I wanted to feel her in my own way, to "talk" briefly.
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In his works, Gustave Moreau did not strive for objectivity and naturalism. He mainly used biblical, mystical and fantastic subjects, turned to the motifs of ancient and northern mythology.
Prometheus, 1868
The Abduction of Europa, 1868
Moreau's explanations for some of his paintings have been preserved - reading them, you understand how his works are saturated with details, each of which has its own special and difficult meaning, acts as a certain symbol. That is why Moreau's painting was so loved by the Symbolists. She had no less influence on such movements as surrealism and fauvism.
Jupiter and Semele, 1894 , sketch
Jupiter and Semele, 1895
In 1895, Moreau completed one of his major works, Jupiter and Semele. He could not put the last point in any way, adding more and more new details, and even sewed in additional strips of canvas several times when he did not have enough space to fully reveal his plan. When, finally, the painting was taken from the workshop by the customer, Moreau exclaimed sadly: "Oh, if only I had at least two more months!" The scene depicted on the canvas is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The Theban princess Semele was seduced by the king of the gods Jupiter. The jealous and treacherous wife of Jupiter persuaded Semele to beg God to appear to her in all his glory. Jupiter agreed, and Semele was killed by the extraordinary radiance emanating from him. According to Moreau's interpretation, she is "smitten with a paroxysm of divine ecstasy." In the picture, Jupiter rested his hand on the lyre, an unusual attribute for the god of the lord of Heaven, while his constant attribute - the eagle - was at the bottom. At the foot of the throne, Moreau depicted figures symbolizing Death and Sorrow, which explain the tragic basis of life. Not far from them, under the wings of an eagle, the god Pan (a symbol of the Earth) bowed sadly, at whose feet there are figures of darkness - Shadow and Poverty.
Moreau was an excellent connoisseur of old art, an admirer of ancient Greek culture, a lover of oriental luxury, weapons, and carpets. Directly in the halls of the museum, this is not striking, but pay attention to the frames of the paintings, how elegant and rich they are, as they emphasize the author's ideas
The Life of Mankind, 1886
Working on huge paintings with a lot of detail, Moreau almost did not leave the studio. He was very demanding of himself, and this exactingness often became the reason why the artist left many of his works unfinished.
Here, for example, is a painting that Baron Rothschild offered to pay for, but Moreau refused to sell it unfinished, and failed to finish it ... This canvas is the culmination of one of Moreau's favorite themes and one of the artist's last attempts to revive medieval traditions. The painting depicts a scene "which takes place on a magical island where only women and unicorns live." Here you can see a reference to the graceful school of Fontainebleau, and an association with Titian's painting "Love on Earth and Heaven", and of course a resemblance to the famous medieval tapestry "Lady with a Unicorn".
Unicorns, 1887
Apparition, 1875 (Salome with the head of John the Baptist, fragment).
Mystical flower, 1890 , fragment
"The Mystical Flower" is one of the most mysterious works of the artist, created in the year of the death of his beloved Alexandrina. Christian imagery appears here more like pagan-Celtic: the Holy Virgin sits on a lily flower growing out of stones. The mountainous landscape is reminiscent of the works of Leonardo, and the high detail of the image of the saint, combined with only sketched, and often semi-abstract figures in the lower part, throws a stylistic bridge to the painting of the 20th century.
If you'd like to see the best online collection of Gustave Moreau's work, check it out.
Gustave Moreau (fr. Gustave Moreau) (April 6, 1826, Paris - April 18, 1898, Paris) - French artist, representative of symbolism.
Gustave Moreau was born in 1826 in Paris in the family of the chief architect of Paris, whose duties included maintaining the city's public buildings and monuments in proper form. Early discovered the ability to draw and paint. In 1842, thanks to his father's patronage, Moreau received a certificate of a copyist of paintings, which allows him to freely visit the Louvre and work in its halls at any time.
With the support and approval of his parents, in 1846 he entered the School of Fine Arts, in the studio of François Picot, a classicist master, who taught him the basics of painting. Education here was extremely conservative and mainly consisted of copying plaster casts from ancient statues, drawing male nudes, studying anatomy, perspective and the history of painting. Having suffered a fiasco in the competition for the Prix de Rome, he leaves Pico's workshop. Moreau bows to Delacroix, whose influence is visible in early works (such as the "Pieta" exhibited at the Salon of 1852).
Moreau was a student of Théodore Chasserio at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1849 Moreau exhibited his work at the Salon. In 1852 Father Moreau buys for him a house at number 14 on rue La Rochefoucauld, on the right bank of the Seine, not far from Saint-Lazare Palace. In this prestigious place, in a luxurious mansion, luxuriously and expensively furnished, as befits the best bourgeois houses, Moreau sets up a workshop on the third floor. He lives and works in the best conditions, continues to receive government orders, become a member of high society and official artistic circles. October 10, 1856 Delacroix writes in his diary: “Seeing poor Chasserio. I saw Doz, Diaz and young Moreau, the artist. I quite like him."
Moreau never denied that he owed a lot in his work to Chasserio, his friend, who passed away early (at the age of 37). On his early departure, Moreau painted the canvas Youth and Death (1865). The influence of Theodore Chasserio is also evident in the two large canvases that Moreau began to paint in the 1850s, in The Suitors of Penelope and The Daughters of Theseus. Working on these huge, with a lot of details, paintings, he almost did not leave the studio. However, this high demands on himself subsequently often became the reason why the artist left the work unfinished.
During two trips to Italy (1841 and from 1857 to 1859), he visited Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples, where Moreau studied the art of the Renaissance - the masterpieces of Andrea Mantegna, Crivelli, Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci. He brings from there several hundred copies of the works of the great masters of the Renaissance. He also paints pastels and watercolors, reminiscent of the work of Corot. During this period, he meets Bonnat, Elie Delaunay, the young Degas, whom he helps in his early searches. From now on, Moreau assimilates a characteristic style imbued with the spirit of romanticism - hieratic-frozen, alien to movement and action. In 1862, the artist's father dies.
Theophile Gautier wrote about G. Moreau's painting: it is "... so strange, unusual for the eye and so deliberate in its originality, created for a discerning, knowledgeable and refined spirit." (“Gustave Moreau Museum”, Paris, 1997, p. 16.). In 1864, he exhibits Oedipus and the Sphinx at the Salon - the picture provokes a strong reaction, leaving none of the critics indifferent. This symbolic-allegorical work was the true creative debut of Moreau. A creature with the face and chest of a woman, the wings of a bird and the body of a lion - the Sphinx - clung to the torso of Oedipus; both characters are in a strange stupor, as if hypnotizing each other with a look. A clear drawing, sculptural molding of forms speak of academic training. The discovery of Oedipus and the Sphinx helped
