The lustful gaze into the abyss, the exaggerated aestheticism of an oversaturated society that at the same time believed itself to be in crisis, the morbid charm between Thanatos and Eros - these are thematic areas in art that found expression particularly in Belgian symbolism at the end of the 19th century. Against the development of the surface appeal of naturalism and impressionism, a new art movement emerged in the 1880s, the hallmarks of which were sensuality, magic, profound meaning as well as irrationality. Symbolism often contains an artistic anticipation of the interpretation of dreams by Freud, whose study of the same name appeared in 1899.
The specific feature of Belgian symbolism is a preference for morbid and decadent motifs. Already around the middle of the century, with Antoine Wiertz, death and decay became leitmotifs in art, which can be traced back to sculptors such as George Minne and the master of the absurd James Ensor. Inspired by contemporary literature, artists around 1900 tried to combine a new mysticism with an extravagant and precious style, as Charles van der Stappen achieved in his sculpture by combining noble materials. In this context, the femme fatale becomes the central figure as an expression of abundance and lust, for example in the work of Fernand Khnopff. With Felicien Rops and Jean Delville, the aspect of the esoteric and demonic is added here. Symbolism not only influenced portraits and figures, but was also reflected as a paysage symbolist in the landscape paintings of William Degouve de Nuncques and Fernand Khnopff, as well as in the eerie interiors of Leon Spilliaert, Xavier Mellery and Georges Lebrun.