Born in the late nineteenth century, Symbolism was not a movement, but a state of mind and a constellation of artists who for over two decades would set Europe ablaze. It brought together some of the period's greatest artists - including Ferdinand Nodier, Arnold Böcklin and Carlos Schwabe in Switzerland, Giovanni Segantini in Switzerland and Italy, Odilon Redon in France, Gustav Klimt in Austria and Fernand Khnopff in Belgium - all of whom declared a fervent belief in mystery and the ideal, in spirituality and the exploration of the unconscious, and in the unity of the arts. As they blurred the boundaries between music, dance, poetry and the visual arts, so they opened up the way to the great art movements of the twentieth century: Surrealism, Expressionism and abstraction. This catalogue to the major exhibition Myths and Mysteries : Symbolism and Swiss Artists', curated by Valentina Anker for the Kunstmuseum Bern and the Museo Cantonale d'Arte and the Museo d'Arte in Lugano, explores the most compelling themes of Swiss and European Symbolism, illustrating them with masterpieces from great private collections and the most prestigious museums and galleries, both in Switzerland and internationally.
