L’amour des âmes (1900) by Jean Delville.
Another of the many connections between the Symbolism and psychedelic poster art, the mystically-inclined Jean Delville (1867–1953) may at least have approved of the addition of a yin-yang symbol to his painting of drifting souls. I was originally going to post Delville’s Pour L’art poster design since I’ve not seen a copy on the web as good as the one below which is scanned from a book. (The principal Delville site has many of his works but in variable quality.) Delville’s pair of floating lovers happen coincidentally to suit the preoccupations of February 14th.
MC5 at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit (1967) by Gary Grimshaw.
Pour L’art was a Belgian circle of artists formed in Brussels in 1892 to stage exhibitions promoting their work. Delville was the most notable of the group as well as being one of its prime movers. Looking on the Delville website it’s good to see there’s a major study of the artist’s life and work in progress, with publication scheduled for later this year. Too many artists from the late 19th century have been neglected for far too long but attitudes are slowly changing. Anyone interested in Jean Delville is advised to also look at this site which is dedicated to that apostle of androgyny, Joséphin Péladan. One of the strangest characters in the Symbolist menagerie (and the competition for that label is fierce), Péladan’s occult theories inspired Delville and a number of other artists in Belgium and France. It’s good to see he’s also gaining some serious study at last.
Pour L’art (1892) by Jean Delville.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Philippe Jullian, connoisseur of the exotic
• Delville, Scriabin and Prometheus
• The faces of Parsifal
• Masonic fonts and the designer’s dark materials
• Angels 4: Fallen angels