Symbolists and Decadents

Building on the "breviary of decadence," J.K. Huysmans' Against the Grain, this course will examine the period of the turn-of-the-century, which witnessed two major trends in the arts: a sense of the decadence that coincided with the turn-of-the-century and a social and artistic rejuvenation associated with that same event. We will explore this dual notion of the fin-de-siecle in the visual and literary arts. Documents from the period along with more recent art historical and literary criticism will introduce students to the thematic, philosophical, and stylistic bases that formed these arts as a way to develop a vocabulary and the necessary analytical skills to discuss visual and verbal representation. Among the artists and writers to be included are Moreau, Redon, Munch, Khnopff, Rops, Horta, Klimt, Brooks, Somov, Benois, Bauer, Dobuzhinsky, Mucha, Beardsley, Denis, Baudelaire, Mallarme, Rodenbach, Huysmans, Rachilde, Wilde, Blok, Akhmatova, Gippius, and Diagilev.Prerequisite: Division II students.