Gustave Moreau

Gustave Moreau: History Painting, Spirituality, and Symbolism by Peter Cooke, 194 pages

Gustave Moreau was a singular artist, painting fashionable nudes with a combination of neo-Classical coolness and Romantic vision, situating them within a surreal fever dream so intricately detailed that decoration and symbolism become indistinguishable.  He has been simultaneously claimed and rejected by a diverse array of modern art movements - notably the Symbolists, Fauves, Surrealists, and even the Abstract Expressionists.  In this survey of Moreau's life and work, Peter Cooke explains Moreau's goal of reviving the art of history painting and recovering an artistic power that had been lost in the desert of 19th century academicism, a goal which was simultaneously traditionalist and forward-looking.  In the process, he demonstrates the uncanny effect created by the contemplative coolness of Moreau's figures distancing the viewer even as the derangement of detail draws us in, although the intended effect of Moreau's best work, like that of eastern icons, is not merely to draw the viewer in but to draw us through.

Cooke generally writes with care and discrimination, aside from being a bit too sweeping in his dismissal of Huysmans' embrace of Moreau's work.  He pays a great deal of attention to Moreau's reputation and legacy, including a substantial chapter on Moreau's work as a teacher.  The only real flaw of the book is structural - some of the reproductions are separated from their discussion in the text, leading to an unfortunate amount of flipping back and forth.