Paris, France — A magical and mystical world paying tribute to the Middle Ages is unfolding in Paris at the delightful Musée national Gustave Moreau. Gustave Moreau, the 19th century artist, who was a master of Symbolism, portrayed stories from the Bible, mythology, his own imagination all in his singular otherworldly style. Fascination with the medieval pervaded 19th century art and culture —of note Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris — in Europe and Moreau was no exception. The exhibition, entitled Gustave Moreau. The Middle Ages Rediscovered, offers a discovery of some 85 works by the artist including paintings, watercolors, drawings, and photographs, emanating from the museum’s permanent collections as well as two exceptional loans, one from France’s National Library and one from the Louvre. 

Left: Gustave Moreau,  Sainte Cécile (Saint Cecilia), watercolor on vellum paper. Paris, musée Gustave Moreau, Inv. 13992 bis ©RMN-Grand Palais/Sylvie Chan-Liat. Right: Gustave Moreau, Ange voyageur (Traveling Angel), graphite, watercolor, gouache on vellum paper. Paris, musée Gustave Moreau, Cat. 441 ©RMN-Grand Palais/Sylvie Chan-Liat. Handouts via The Gourmet Gazette

His dream-like works are peopled with unicorns —the great medieval example being the series of The Lady and the Unicorn series on display at the Cluny Museum dedicated to the Middle Ages —Hamlet, The Traveling Angel, a dream-like angel sitting atop a medieval cathedral, inevitably  Notre-Dame, from which he drew his inspiration from that cathedral’s famous gargoyle, the Strix, a bird of ill-omen in classical mythology. And there is, too, a poignant portrayal of Saint Cecilia, a 3rd century Roman noble woman who was the patron saint of music and musicians. Another painting depicts the Death of a Young Crusader, evoking the Crusades of the Middle Ages. Chimeras, which regained popularity as themes in the Middle Ages, are represented as well.

The museum dedicated to Gustave Moreau is located in the artist’s family home which was transformed into a museum at the artist’s request in 1895. He would bequeath the home and the works within to France and the National Gustave Moreau Museum opened in 1903. It has a collection of some 25,000 works by the artist and has remained practically unchanged from the time he and his family lived there. Middle Ages exhibition until February 12th. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. 14, rue de La Rochefoucauld, 75009 Paris.Tel: +33 (0)1 83 62 78 72. https://musee-moreau.fr/en