Symbolism and Impressionism

Though distinct as movements, Symbolism and Impressionism overlap: both of these aesthetics rely on suggestion (rather than description), mystery, and dreams.

Symbolism, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, radicalised certain aspects of German Romanticism by way of reaction to the Naturalist movement. The Symbolists wanted to achieve a spiritual vision of the world through an often deliberately obscure and allegorical mode of expression. Wagner was their precursor, profoundly influencing Baudelaire and later Belgian poets, particularly Maeterlinck. Many composers were affected in turn: Schoenberg, Bartók, Fauré, Dukas, and above all Debussy all went through a Symbolist phase.

Impressionism, which lasted from around 1890 to 1914, was in some ways an intensification of certain Symbolist traits: apparent discontinuity became fragmentation of discourse, diffraction of material, priority of colour over line. Precursors to this movement were Turner, Poe, and Baudelaire. In music, Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune can be considered Symbolist in inspiration but already Impressionist in realisation. Other representatives of musical Impressionism include Ravel, Szymanowski, and Delius.