Geneviève Lacambre Shares Her Deep Love and Admiration for Gustave Moreau

 

Gustave Moreau: Magic and Symbols – Geneviève Lacambre (1999)

 

            Often, it is the small books that provide the most information.  Such is the case with this sumptuously illustrated volume exploring the life and art of Gustave Moreau.  One of publisher Harry N. Abrams’ “Discoveries” series, an amazing set of introductory books on Literature, Science, Art, and the Ancient World, this book benefits greatly from its erudite author, Geneviève Lacambre, previously the long-time director of the Musée National Gustave Moreau in Paris.  First-hand knowledge is awesome!  I much prefer reading the adoring words of an artist’s true admirer than the critical skewering which passes for art history these days.

            I spent 2/3 of my time at University studying for my major, Studio Art, specifically oil painting.  I spent 1/3 of my time taking classes for my Art History minor.  In all that time, I was not introduced to the work of Gustave Moreau.  What a shame! Gustave Moreau, through supreme talent, practice, and pure willpower, created a synthesis of old-world myth, christian allegory, and his own innate creativity which served as the vanguard for the Symbolist movement of the very early 1900’s.  Much like the best artists, Moreau sought not to pander to the then-current and always-fickle tastes of the populace, or to the increasingly short-sighted ideas of the established Parisian Salons.  He sought to portray universal truths and wisdom, without overtly explaining his compositions. 

            Seen as an inspiration by many younger painters, Moreau never sought direct categorization of his style and work.  Even so, the path he carved through the world of painting led to the formation of the Symbolist movement in art.  These painters, much younger than Moreau, with many of them studying under him as assistants, used his techniques of theme, composition, and color to try and pull the art world away from the two main pillars of the time, Naturalism, and Impressionism.  The Naturalists sought to portray the inherent beauty of nature, life, and the world around us without embellishment, subtext, or mytho-historical context.  The Impressionists sought to portray the gossamer, fleeting, ever-changing nature of light upon the natural world, and specifically the way that light entered the human eye to create image and form.  Neither used the classic masters as inspiration, which Moreau explicitly did.  They also never sought to create narrative works, something Moreau excelled at, imbuing his art with a deep sense of history, myth, religion, fable, and the inherent human truths those forms espouse.

            Gustave Moreau was an obsessive personality.   He made countless sketches before he sought to portray anything in oil.  Moreau was one of the first fine artists to utilize watercolor paints as a finished product, whereas most artists of the time used watercolors for preliminary sketches.  In time, Moreau’s watercolor works sold just as well as his finished oil pieces, owing to his masterful and riotous use of color.  He also chose not to sell, or even exhibit, his favorite paintings, choosing to keep them for himself.  Who else would appreciate them as intensely?  Truly a bad-ass of the highest caliber. 

            Moreau eventually began teaching art at the École des Beaux-Arts, and according to the testimony of his many students, he was an inspiring and engaging instructor.  Some of the greats of 20^th century art studied under Moreau, giants such as Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault, and Henri Evenepoel.  Unlike many great artists who also taught, Moreau never demanded his students follow his personal style or ideas.  He sought to have them each develop their own view, their own style, something that could never be taken from them.  This was far different from the other art professors at Beaux-Arts, most of whom were strictly academic painters, seeking to render the natural world and not the inner tumult of human experience.

            If there is a lesson to be learned from Moreau it is that an artist must seek their own internal, thematic guidance.  For writers, the dictum is “write what you know,” which is a fair one, as readers can immediately tell when an author is speaking about a topic they have no personal experience with.  I believe this should also apply to visual artists.  While many artists seek to defend their explorations, they often end up forcing a theme, or leaving their work feeling slapdash and incomplete.  Moreau loved the classical myths, and drew inspiration from them, re-purposing their symbols and allegories, combining them with christian themes and allegories, all the while portraying his subjects in a lavish way, almost overwhelming the viewer with attention to detail.  It is the exact opposite of minimalism, and his style influenced the Symbolists who followed.

            The amazing result of Gustave Moreau’s failure to sell much of his work, mostly by choice, is that upon his death, he left his entire collection, home, and studio to the country of France.  Several years after his passing, the paperwork went through, and the Musée National Gustave Moreau opened in Paris, where it remains to this day, a time capsule of, and a testament to, one of the most imaginative painters of his generation.  I hope to someday visit it, and see in person these large, impressive works of art.  Until then, books such as these will be my companion.