Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1022156
2 Martin's highly individual genius fused Symbolism and Neo-Impressionism to create images of extraordinary joy and beauty. This exhibition will explore the development of Martin's paintings: from an artist captivated by the allegorical, to one that celebrated symbolism within the landscape. Born in Toulouse on 5 th August 1860, Henri Martin began his artistic training aged 15. Realising his talent, Martin attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse from 1877-1879. After winning the Grand Prix de la ville in 1879, he moved to Paris to study under the renowned artist Jean-Paul Laurens. While Lauren's distinctly academic approach had a significant influence on Martin's very early works, the birth of Symbolism had a more lasting impact. The Greek born French poet Jean Moréas first published the Symbolist Manifesto in Le Figaro on 18 September 1886. The article called for a rejection of naturalism and romanticism and paved the way for a new artistic expression removed from the constraints of reality. Although written as a literature manifesto, Moréas' thoughts captured the imagination of poets and artists alike. Leading figures of the movement included Charles Baudelaire and Gustave Moreau, alongside the artist Odilon Redon and the art critic Joséphin Péladan. Symbolism devotes itself to the expression of idea over realism, it is not determined by a specific artistic technique, but by subject matter. Symbolists strove to portray a psychological rather than representational view of the world. Hence, depictions of figures and their surroundings are tied to deeper meaning, be it love, death, betrayal or harmony. Additionally, there was no singular source of inspiration, but rather the individual's interpretation of myth, fantasy and religion. In this way artists as varied as Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Émile Bernard, Gustav Klimt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, were all attached to this international movement. Symbolism became hugely influential on 20 th century art movements, emphasising an understanding of the world beyond what is actually seen. In 1892 Martin exhibited eight works at the first Symbolist Salon de la Rose+Croix. Born from Joséphin Péladan's order of the Rose+Croix, Péladan established this Parisian Salon to revolutionise art by rejecting the mainstream painting of the Academy and Impressionism. The focus instead was on dream and the ideal. As Péladan wrote 'the work of art is a fugue: nature supplies its motif; the soul of the artist creates the rest'. The Rose+Croix was popular although somewhat controversial at the time. Its associations with Western esoteric traditions and Péladan naming himself High Priest, left some to draw loose comparisons to a cult. Although clearly enchanted by Symbolism Martin did not exhibit again at the Salon de la Rose+Croix, perhaps A H A R M O N Y O F S Y M B O L I S M A N D N A T U R E