Mystical Symbolism, The Salon de la Rose+Croix in Paris, 1892-1897, now on view at the Guggenheim, isn't the type of show one normally associates with this bastion of modernism. Rather it's a look back to the last years of the nineteenth century when European Romanticism in its death throes gave itself over to decadence and baroque excess.
It should first be noted that the exhibit is not so much a recreation of the six annual salons staged by Joseph Péledan between 1892 and 1897 as it is a reimagining of them in the most unlikely of settings. Although all the works on display were in fact shown at one or the other of Péledan's salons, the order in which they are presented here was decided by curator Vivien Greene rather than by the Rosicrucian master himself.
One problem with rapid advances in science and technology is that, however desirable they may be, they cannot help but rob the world of its sense of mystery. And the late nineteenth century was certainly a period of intellectual ferment. This was not only limited to the sciences - in Switzerland Einstein had already begun his studies in physics - but the arts as well. As far back as 1863 the Salon des Refusés had exhibited the work of Paul Cézanne, forerunner of Cubism. Péledan was one of those who at such times sought refuge in the past while rejecting the innovations of the present, in this case best represented by Impressionism and Naturalism. And Péledan was none too subtle about it either. A poster (unfortunately not on view at the present exhibit) for the fifth Salon de la Rose + Croix, 1896, depicted Perseus holding the severed head of Émile Zola. Péledan's own muse was Richard Wagner and he adapted the composer's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk by making the salons multimedia events that incorporated music, theater and the spoken word along with the visual art hanging on the walls.
While the six salons overseen by Péledan may have been anachronisms, they did feature the work of many prominent artists some of whom, such as Félix Vallaton, would go on to be associated with more modernist schools (e.g., the Nabis). Though the foremost Symbolists, Gustave Moreau and Odilon Redon, declined to submit work to the salons, others such as Fernand Khnopff and Jean Delville did participate as did the composer Erik Satie. Delville, in fact, contributed a portrait of Péledan himself for the occasion.
The Symbolists were fascinated by Greek mythology and in particular the myth of Orpheus in the underworld. There are several works on view commemorating this figure, the best of which is unquestionably Deville's 1893 The Death of Orpheus. Though this is an oil on canvas, its blue coloring gives it the appearance of a cyanotype print. Another work dedicated to the mythological hero is Pierre Amédée Marcel-Béronneau's 1897 Orpheus in Hades. Marcel-Béronneau was a student of Moreau and the latter's influence can clearly be seen in this huge canvas.
Other works of interest at the exhibit are L’Aurore du Travail ("The Dawn of Labor") by Charles Maurin and the luminous Vision by Alphonse Osbert that looks strangely modern among the other paintings. The finest work on display, however, is Khnopff's iconic 1891 I Lock the Door Upon Myself that shows the great influence the Pre-Raphaelites, yet another group who looked to the mythical past for inspiration, exerted on the visual arts at the close of the nineteenth century.
If Symbolist art has fallen out of fashion in this century (The New York Times goes so far as to refer to its "kitschy glory" in its review of this exhibit), this artwork still holds a fascination for the viewer precisely because it insists on man's need for mystery. These paintings can in a sense be thought of as Jungian archetypes that bypass the rational mind and instead make their appeal directly to the unconscious.
The exhibit continues through October 4, 2017.
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