SEIZING SYMBOLISTS

The Ferme Ornée and the Orangerie of the Caillebotte property is hosting an exhibition entitled "La Porte des Rêves, Un Regard Symboliste" meaning the door to dreams, a Symbolist regard. And the show effectively does just that through some 163 Symbolist works in myriad mediums ranging from paintings to sculptures, pastels, drawings, lithographs and enamels.

The works on display emanate from a private French collection, which include works that were already exhibited at the time of their creation and played a pioneering role in the recognition of the Symbolists. The collection has travelled to 11 countries and 17 museums but has not been exhibited in France since 2000. The show is an invitation to discover the works of some 50 artists both French and from abroad who worked between 1890 and 1914 and belonged to two generations of French and European Symbolists. Henry de Groux, Charles Lacoste and George Desvallières are among the artists on display.

The show opens up with works reflecting the Symbolists’ taste for traditional subjects found in medieval and Renaissance art like the age of legends. In this idealised universe fairy-like figures are evoked along with idyllic landscapes and mysterious forests. These are followed by works devoted to the great myths, the muses depicted by the artists, dream-like settings and the world of silence. There is also a space devoted to the mystical landscapes of CharlesMarie Dulac followed by the dark side of the movement, works depicting descent into hell and finally the ideal.