His time in Munich concluded with his first great painting, inspired by Wilde’s play, which was in turn inspired by Moreau’s paintings of Salome.
Moreau
Two paintings showing Salome. In one, she dances for Herod, and asks for the head of John the Baptist. In the other, she tries to stare out the severed head.
A look back at some of the series and some surprises which you might have missed over the last year.
After some false starts, he finally re-established his reputation at the Salon, but was that work a political allegory?
He still couldn’t repeat his earlier success in the years running up to the Franco-Prussian War. But some paintings have been under-appreciated.
Two paintings of the buried dismemberment of a victim: one theatrical narrative, the other a serene reverie of anti-theatrical non-narrative. And an oriental witch.
He took the Salon of 1864 by storm, but was barely noticed with 2 more paintings the following year. Why?
Some stories sound plausible, but are problematic when you try to paint or photograph them. Here’s a good example, with attempted solutions by Reni, Rubens, Moreau, and others.
Three major paintings, each very ambitious, but abandoned, reworked, and abandoned again, give insight into his progress in changing history painting.
Moreau’s extraordinary paintings have been described as Symbolist, Decadent, even Surrealist. They are notoriously difficult to read – here is some help.
The Eclectic Light Company 