Decadent Subjects: The Idea Of Decadence In Art... -

Figures like Salomé , the Sphinx, and the Medusa became central motifs, representing both a fascination with and a fear of shifting gender relations at the turn of the century. Key Figures Explored

Friedrich Nietzsche , Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, and Stéphane Mallarmé. Decadent Subjects: The Idea of Decadence in Art...

Decadent art famously values artifice over nature and sophistication over simplicity. It rejects the idea that art must be "useful" or spiritually elevating. Figures like Salomé , the Sphinx, and the

Gustave Moreau, known for his jewel-like, dreamlike depictions of mythological figures. It rejects the idea that art must be

Artists and their audiences often felt estranged from society, mocking traditional moral rules and embracing sensualism and morbidity to scandalize the "bourgeois" middle class.

Sigmund Freud , whose emerging theories mirror the era's preoccupation with hidden urges and the subconscious.

Bernheimer rereads several major thinkers and artists to rediscover the "dynamics of the decadent":