In 1884 Paris saw the publication of A Rebours (translated both as Against the Grain and Against Nature), a cult fin-de-siecle novel that would create a sensation little short of perverse in the European art scene. Its author, Joris-Karl Huysmans, wrote it as a seductive textbook ecadence, as an antidote to "banal" naturalism. Symbolism, whose influence would endure well into the Modernist era, was an artistic substitute religion, a spiritually-charged cult of beauty. A Symbolist picture or sculpture remains deliberately enigmatic: in place of intellectual comprehension, the work wishes the viewer to experience its mysterious profundity in the manner of an inner vision. It is no wonder that Symbolists created some of the most fascinating artworks of their age. Формат: 18,5 см x 23 см.