![](https://hyperallergic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Gustave_Moreau_Salome_1876.jpg)
Gustave Moreau was a major figure in French Symbolist painting whose main emphasis was the illustration of biblical and mythological figures. His mother was a musician and his father an architect, so Moreau was exposed to art from a very young age. His parents ensured that he got a good education. At the age of 15, he visited Rome, Italy where he developed a keen interest in art. Later, at around the age of 18, he studied with François-Edouard Pico, the Neoclassical painter, and prepared for the entrance exam to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/GustaveMoreau02.jpg/220px-GustaveMoreau02.jpg)
Gustave Moreau’s visionary paintings speak to an obsession with the otherworldly which makes him one of the most fascinating artists of 19th century. His unusual faith, called Neo-Platonism, inspired him to pay close attention to the imperfection of our physical world. He believed that by doing so he was “allowing divine vision to speak through his brush”.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Gustave_Moreau_-_Piet%C3%A0.jpg)
Most of his art is focused on biblical scenes. However, he would interpret them according to his own ideas, imagination, and faith. There is also quite a lot of symbolism in his work. He took those symbols to represent humans’ desires and emotions in the abstract form. These are all reasons for why he is considered a forerunner of symbolism and realism.
![](https://img.theculturetrip.com/320x/images/19-23648-tumblr-m7i05rq9sg1r9zsdzo1-1280.jpg)
![](https://hyperallergic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Moreau_Le-Poete-et-La-Sirene.jpg)
Sources:
https://hyperallergic.com/285470/paint-is-the-language-of-god-the-gospel-according-to-gustave-moreau/
https://www.theartstory.org/artist-moreau-gustave.htm
https://en.musee-moreau.fr/gustave-moreau/biography