Love, marriage and encounters
Gods, lovers, spouses and people whose relationships remain unknown.
Symbolist paintings
Explore Symbolist paintings through their subjects and cultural settings. Examine details and follow the sources behind each story.
Paintings in this selection
26 artworks. Open a painting to read its story and explore its details.
Gustav KlimtThe Kiss (Lovers)
1908 (completed 1909)
Victor Borisov-MusatovThe Pond
1902–1903
James McNeill WhistlerNocturne: Blue and Gold—Southampton Water
1872
George InnessThe Home of the Heron
1893
Gustave MoreauHercules and the Lernaean Hydra
1875–76
James McNeill WhistlerArrangement in Flesh Color and Brown: Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy
1894
George InnessAutumn Oaks
ca. 1878
Albert Pinkham RyderThe Toilers of the Sea
ca. 1880–85
James McNeill WhistlerArrangement in Flesh Colour and Black: Portrait of Theodore Duret
1883
Gustave MoreauOedipus and the Sphinx
1864
Albert Pinkham RyderThe Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)
c. 1896–1908
Paul GauguinSelf-Portrait
1889
Mikhail VrubelThe Swan Princess
1900
Kuzma Petrov-VodkinBathing of a Red Horse
1912
Viktor Borisov-MusatovPhantoms
1903
Mikhail NesterovThe Vision of the Youth Bartholomew
1889–1890
Mikhail VrubelDemon Seated
1890
Nikolai SapunovColumbine
1910
Konstantin SomovConfidences
1897
Mikhail NesterovSilence
1903
Viktor VasnetsovTsar Ivan the Terrible
1897
Mikhail VrubelChrist in Gethsemane. Prayer for the Cup
1887
Valentin SerovThe Abduction of Europa
1910
Mikhail VrubelThe Resurrection. Mural Study
1889A title, a literary source or an artist’s history can help explain an unfamiliar image. A detail does not always have a single meaning. Painting pages pair visual observations with context and sources so that interpretations can be examined.
Artists
Related art tours
How painting changed in the early twentieth century
Colour, the human figure and early experiments in abstraction.
How to explore the paintings
On an artwork page, choose “Explore the painting”. Zoom in, move around the image and hide the text to see the details. Turn on the audio guide to hear the story, or use autoplay to move between passages.
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