Lecture 4: Poetic abstraction — Symbolist Aesthetics

If you missed Lecture 4: Poetic abstraction—Symbolist Aesthetics from Terence Maloon’s series The 50 years that changed painting 1867–1917, you can watch the recorded version below or on our Youtube channel. 

The lecture series continues on the first Sunday of each month till September 2024 and March to August 2025. Learn more about the upcoming lectures and book a seat here.

Lecture 4: Poetic abstraction—Symbolist Aesthetics

Stéphane Mallarmé was a French poet who wrote the most obscure and recondite verse of the 19th Century. His poetry was published in tiny editions, yet visual artists were among his most enthusiastic readers. Mallarmé’s portraits were painted or drawn by Manet, Whistler, Renoir, Gauguin, Vallotton, and Munch, and Matisse illustrated a magnificent edition of Mallarmé’s Poésies. This lecture explores his revolutionary poetics and the ways it anticipated the advent of abstract art.