Art Criticism - The State University of New York

completely mythical. Coupled with a veneration of the past, is the elevation of
the world of the imagination over real life, a turning inward to a realm of fantasy
and refined sensation. Moreau's own life became increasingly solitary, as he
grew older and more disenchanted with the increasing anomie of urban life.
These aspects of Moreau's art mirror des Esseintes' denial of the modem
world and his efforts to assert his own self, his uniqueness, in the ever-growing
modern metropolis. Moreau was, Proust wrote, "one of those who have an
inner soul into which they can sometimes penetrate. The rest of their life is a
kind of exile, often voluntary, not sad, but tedious."34
This escape to an inner realm is evident on a more subtle level in
Moreau's work through the use of the arabesque, a form which fascinated
Moreau. The arabesque as plastic equivalent to the soul in all its mystery was
discussed by many artists and poets. 35 With its Greek and Oriental connotations
it also embodied the "ideal and the universal" for Moreau. 36 Its labyrinth
form suggests unreason and irregularity, and the proliferation of the arabesque
form in much of Moreau's work implies the mysterious or the enigmatic. Moreau
was drawn to mysticism, and wished to explore the arcane realms of thought
and spirit, realms that were untouchable and divineY The arabesque is associated
with mystery, the world of the unconscious. Wonderful arabesques of
line and color are evident in the unfinished The Unicorns (1887-88) or in The
Apparition (1874-76). The arabesque in painting adds to the mystery. The clear
lines of heroic Renaissance art are in sharp cont~ast to the mysteriousness
deliberately fostered by Moreau. The swirling motion of the arabesque is
perhaps most evident in some of Moreau's abstract sketches of pure color,
which contain little or no figurative detail, but beautiful swathes of paint with
the evocative power of the most compelling of the modern abstract expressionists.
Moreau was extremely preoccupied with the mystery and idealism of
Christianity. Like 1. K. Huysmans, who finally converted to Catholicism following
his dabbles in decadence and Satan ism, Christianity appealed to many
artists of the fin-de-siecle, who were disenchanted by the materialism of their
peers.
III. THECOUN1ER-ARGUMENT: DECADENCE AS NEITHER A BLACK
NORVflllTEPROPOSrnON
Viewed on a superficial level, the artificiality, gender confusion, the
unnatural treatment of the female subject, and general rejection of reality would
quickly condemn Moreau's art to the dungeons of decadence. If decadence in
art is characterized by extreme maturity, a proliferation of detail, an extremely
complicated style, a profusion of color and the tendency to translate the passions
in a depraved or obsessive manner, then Moreau's art must be judged as
high decadence. Along with the considerable popularity of his work among
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Art Criticism