|
The French Symbolist Gustave Moreau(1826-1898)created a lot of Salomes in his life. They contain plenty of symbolic meanings and the artist’s special thoughts; furthermore, they can reflect the cultural state and trend of the fin-de-siecle. The aim of this dissertation is by way of iconological research, to explore Moreau’s thoughts and esthetic concepts formed in his creating process; and to observe the cultural phenomena of the fin-de-siecle. Besides the iconological method, this dissertation has applied the compared analysis of formal style to introduce the uniqueness and the originality of Moreau’s Salome.As for the variety of documents possibly influencing Moreau’s Salome, this dissertation makes use of the first-hand materials as much as possible in order to find out the real influences. But the most important thing of iconological research is to analyze and explain the iconical inner meanings; this process can help us to resolve the vague symbolic riddles that Moreau had applied. This dissertation also adapts the method of characteristic definition to explore Salome’s symbolic meanings and Moreau’s creating thoughts. At last, this dissertation will mine the treasures of iconical core. That is, the artist’s motivation, characteristics, point of views, values, philosophical and religious concepts , and the environment of the artist’s age related to his creation. From these researches, we can deeply understand the abundance of Moreau’s creating thoughts. Gustave Moreau’s Salome can actually and completely represent the cultural spirit of the fin-de-siecle.
|