Gustave Moreau, “Suzanne et les Vieillards” (c. 1895). All images courtesy Nahmad Contemporary.
Picasso, Duchamp, Dalí, Mondrian—these are some of the names that come to mind when one thinks of Modernist game-changers. But Gustave Moreau? Maybe not, until now. Nahmad Contemporary’s current show, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) displays the work of Moreau alongside his students, Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault, and later painters from the rise of Modernism to the contemporary, exploring the Frenchman’s place within and influence on painting in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
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Moreau was a leader of French Symbolism, a 19th century movement in literature, philosophy, and the arts—the exhibition’s title comes from the writing of Charles Baudelaire, a primary figure in Symbolist literature. When it comes to painting, Symbolism is characterized by mythical and spiritual themes, often erotic and hedonistic in content. It’s an emotional, unrealistic style uninterested in the external world.
Gustave Moreau, “Sainte Cécile (Les anges lui annoncent son prochain martyre)” (c. 1897)
From the expressive brushstrokes of Matisse to the drama and otherworldliness of Dalí, the show links Moreau’s work to the Surrealists, Fauves, and Impressionists. Then, there are newer syntheses of the surreal and symbolist, via George Condo, Damien Hirst, and Richard Prince.
Elizabeth Peyton’s Dreamt Baroque Masterworks (above) is a perfect example supporting the lineage drawn by Les Fleurs du Mal. Its nouveau-Impressionist style depicts a vase of flowers that might pass for Matisse or Chagall. But in the background is a classical-looking musician with two women, a trope of the Baroque, and the whole thing is given a sense of drama and precarity with its diagonal lines and thick brushstrokes.Les Fleurs du Mal is on view at Nahmad Contemporary until April 9, 2016.Related:Here’s Tom Brady as a Literal Greek GodPainting’s Evolution in the Digital AgeArtist Wreaks Havoc and Destruction Using Torn Paper
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Elizabeth Peyton’s Dreamt Baroque Masterworks (above) is a perfect example supporting the lineage drawn by Les Fleurs du Mal. Its nouveau-Impressionist style depicts a vase of flowers that might pass for Matisse or Chagall. But in the background is a classical-looking musician with two women, a trope of the Baroque, and the whole thing is given a sense of drama and precarity with its diagonal lines and thick brushstrokes.Les Fleurs du Mal is on view at Nahmad Contemporary until April 9, 2016.Related:Here’s Tom Brady as a Literal Greek GodPainting’s Evolution in the Digital AgeArtist Wreaks Havoc and Destruction Using Torn Paper
