Art and literature Belle Époque

auguste renoir, bal du moulin de la galette, 1876, oil on canvas, 131 × 175 cm, musée d orsay

in 1890, vincent van gogh died. during 1890s paintings achieved admiration had eluded them during van gogh s life, first among other artists, gradually among public. reactions against ideals of impressionists characterized visual arts in paris during belle Époque. among post-impressionist movements in paris nabis, salon de la rose + croix, symbolist movement (also in poetry, music, , visual art), fauvism, , modernism. between 1900 , 1914, expressionism took hold of many artists in paris , vienna. works of cubism , abstraction exhibited. foreign influences being felt in paris well. official art school in paris, École des beaux-arts, held exhibition of japanese printmaking changed approaches graphic design, particular posters , book illustration (aubrey beardsley influenced similar exhibit when visited paris during 1890s). exhibits of african tribal art captured imagination of parisian artists @ turn of 20th century.

art nouveau popularly recognized art movement emerge period. largely decorative style (jugendstil in central europe), characterized curvilinear forms, , nature inspired motifs became prominent mid-1890s , dominated progressive design throughout of europe. use in public art in paris, such hector guimard s paris métro stations, has made synonymous city.

prominent artists in paris during belle Époque included post-impressionists such odilon redon, gustave moreau, maurice denis, pierre bonnard, Édouard vuillard, paul gauguin, henri matisse, Émile bernard, henri rousseau, henri de toulouse-lautrec (whose reputation improved substantially after death), giuseppe amisani , young pablo picasso. more modern forms in sculpture began dominate in works of paris-native auguste rodin.

although impressionism in painting began before belle Époque, had been met skepticism if not outright scorn public accustomed realist , representational art approved academy. in 1890, monet started series haystacks. impressionism, had been considered artistic avant-garde in 1860s, did not gain widespread acceptance until after world war i. academic painting style, associated academy of art in paris, remained respected style among public in paris. artists appealed belle Époque public include william-adolphe bouguereau, english pre-raphaelite s john william waterhouse, , lord leighton , depictions of idyllic roman scenes. more progressive tastes patronized barbizon school plein-air painters. these painters associates of pre-raphaelites, inspired generation of esthetic-minded souls .

many successful examples of art nouveau, notable regional variations, built in france, germany, belgium, spain, austria (the vienna secession), hungary, bohemia , latvia. spread around world, including brazil, argentina, mexico , united states.

european literature underwent major transformation during belle Époque. literary realism , naturalism achieved new heights. among famous french realist or naturalist authors guy de maupassant , Émile zola. realism gradually developed modernism, emerged in 1890s , came dominate european literature during belle Époque s final years , throughout interwar years. modernist classic in search of lost time begun marcel proust in 1909, published after world war i. works of german thomas mann had huge impact in france well, such death in venice, published in 1912. colette shocked france publication of sexually frank claudine novel series, , other works. joris-karl huysmans, came prominence in mid-1880s, continued experimenting themes , styles associated symbolism , decadent movement, in book à rebours. andré gide, anatole france, alain-fournier, paul bourget among france s popular fiction writers of era.

among poets, symbolists such charles baudelaire remained @ forefront. although baudelaire s poetry collection les fleurs du mal had been published in 1850s, exerted strong influence on next generation of poets , artists. decadent movement fascinated parisians, intrigued paul verlaine , above arthur rimbaud, became archetypal enfant terrible of france. rimbaud s illuminations published in 1886, , subsequently other works published, influencing surrealists , modernists during belle Époque , after. rimbaud s poems first works of free verse seen french public. free verse , typographic experimentation emerged in un coup de dés jamais n abolira le hasard stéphane mallarmé, anticipating dada , concrete poetry. guillaume apollinaire s poetry introduced themes , imagery modern life readers. cosmopolis: literary review had far-reaching impact on european writers, , ran editions in london, paris, saint petersburg, , berlin.

paris s popular bourgeois theatre dominated light farces of georges feydeau , cabaret performances. theatre adopted new modern methods, including expressionism, , many playwrights wrote plays shocked contemporary audiences either frank depictions of everyday life , sexuality or unusual artistic elements. cabaret theater became popular.

musically, belle Époque characterized salon music. not considered serious music but, rather, short pieces considered accessible general audience. in addition works piano solo or violin , piano, belle Époque famous large repertory of songs (mélodies, romanze, etc.). italians greatest proponents of type of song, greatest champion being francesco paolo tosti. though tosti s songs never left repertoire, salon music fell period of obscurity. encores, singers afraid sing them @ serious recitals. in period, waltzes flourished. operettas @ peak of popularity, composers such johann strauss iii, emmerich kálmán, , franz lehár. many belle Époque composers working in paris still popular today: igor stravinsky, erik satie, claude debussy, lili boulanger, jules massenet, césar franck, camille saint-saëns, gabriel fauré , pupil, maurice ravel.

modern dance began emerge powerful artistic development in theatre. dancer loie fuller appeared @ popular venues such folies bergère, , took eclectic performance style abroad well. sergei diaghilev s ballets russes brought fame vaslav nijinsky , established modern ballet technique. ballets russes launched several ballet masterpieces, including firebird , rite of spring (sometimes causing audience riots @ same time).