Symbolism in art and fashion

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
Suneel Talekar-M . Sc. Fashion Design
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gIRL
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



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 
!"#
#
$
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
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('&
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
Source of
ins piration
Bo rrowe d

image s from
s ymbo lis t
writing s
Biblic al
re ferences &
anc ient myth
Traditio nal
Appro ac h
Common
theme s

Sexuality/Nudity

Biblical e ve nts

Ang els

Wo me n/Mo the rhoo
d

Brig ht
colors /graphic s

Dark s pirits /
Death

Go ds /Go dde s s

Anc ie nt Myth
Characte rs

*&&

+, #
'

- 
)
"
. 
Symbolist painter, writer,
occultist,
Belgian symbolist: 1867-1953
*&&

“Mysteriosa” Jean Deville (1892)
(Portrait of Mrs. Stuart Merrill)
"*/&
'
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
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&'
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

Well-known artists for
this type of symbolisms
He had 11 children and 5 of them
died in infancy
Swiss-German symbolist: 1827-1901
Jean Delville Arnold Bocklin
,4#)
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 *& 
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
&##&


@
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•
.; 
•

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,CC'&'&&
Gus tave Moreau (1826-1898)
,''
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
- %
Butterflies
Broken spear and
the beast
Clenched hand and
Size of medea
Vial of magic, serpent,
garland of flowers
•
Title : Jason and medea (1865) oil on canvas
''(
•
A*''(5D=

•

A''(*'
'&&
'E
•
'E
('*

'
##

•
A'(E
('*(
•
A,
 *
'
(July 7, 1833 - August 23, 1898)
Belgian artist
Lover of the fantastic and the supernatural
Symbolic themes such as the devil, skeletons, the prostitute,
and death dominated his work
Many demonstrated his belief that women dominated men
and the devil dominated women
Woman is Satan’s accomplice, provokes the most extreme
vices and torments in Man
F'
4 GH5D
Pig with
the golden

tail  Men
Blindfolded
1
•
(February 24, 1863 - August 30, 1928)
•
German Symbolist/Art Nouveau painter,
sculptor, engraver, and architect
•
His seductive female
nudes, in the role of the
femme fatale, are a
prime example of
popular Symbolist
content

•
“Deadly woman"
•
Alluring and seductive woman whose
charms ensnare(lure) her lovers in bonds
of irresistible desire
•
Leading them into dangerous and deadly
situations
•
She is an archetypal character of literature
and art
A5?
A5?

•
Femme Fatale  dangers of the destructive female
temptation
•
The snake has a threatening open mouth, while the
woman looks provocatively at the viewer
•
The symbolic content implies the danger of sexual
desire as personified by the mysterious seductress
•
The title invokes a reminder of the repression of
sexual desire caused by religious mandate
3+
9 "#
–
##'&
'&
–
<I&, ##''
79 ,
–
:
–
%
"+
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•
+




•

''

 

'('*
'&&

'*4#

Fernand Khnopff -The Caresses (1896)
:
Puvis de Chavannes - Hope
< *'&
'&


Olive & White
robe: Peace
. *
#



,
4#
"
:

#*
-
A
-
4
-

%
Eugene Carriere – Tendresse
•
Woman & child
constitutes an
equally
prevalent, time
honored theme
•
Individual
identities are
transformed to
become symbols
of emotional
state of
motherhood
Roses: Love
that can
defeat
everything
and
unfaltering


•
A'


•
4

#
•
4#
3
(
Gustave Moreau – Salome (1876)
•
A



&
&

•

)
/'