Customer Reviews

Symbolist Art in Context

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Michelle Facos has once again created a lucid and richly-illustrated book enriching the understanding of late nineteenth-century European art and culture (See her groundbreaking book on Swedish painting of the 1890s). Without a doubt, her departure from the Franco-centric paradigm of art history is the book's biggest advantage - and of the most interest to myself. She includes artists from across the continent - incorporating artistic production from the European peripheries: most notably Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Her narrative is full of fascinating facts as well as insightful examinations into myriad, and often well-known, works of art. Despite the wide range of imagery that is often lumped into the Symbolist canon, Facos does a fantastic job tying everything together. I only wish that the book could incorporate even more! Definitely recommended to anyone interested in nineteenth-century art history, fin-de-siecle culture, theories of modernity, etc.