Art & Art History ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-16-2026

Abstract

This thesis examines the paintings of Elihu Vedder and Gustave Moreau as examples of how the late nineteenth-century Symbolist movement drew on Eastern regions as aesthetic sources for representing the spiritual. Considering the iconographic and conceptual overlap with the Spiritualist movement, it explores how these groups contributed to constructing an image of the “East” as inherently mystical. While existing scholarship analyzes the Symbolist movement’s engagement with psychoanalytical concepts such as the subconscious and dream state, the role of cultural appropriation in shaping the Symbolist aesthetic has been largely overlooked.

The depiction of Eastern iconography as fantastical will be explored through the paintings of Elihu Vedder (1836-1923) and Gustave Moreau (1826-1898). Vedder is primarily remembered as an illustrator and commercial artist, while Gustave Moreau is remembered as an academic and fine artist. Together, they demonstrate how Symbolist aesthetics were present and visible to broad cultural realms in both popular and elite markets.

Through visual analysis of Elihu Vedder and Gustave Moreau’s paintings, this thesis argues that Symbolist appropriation of Eastern iconography exoticized and essentialized non-Western cultures through mythologized representations. Informed by postcolonial theory and grounded in a critical understanding of Orientalism, this focused investigation will contribute to an understanding of how Symbolists participated in the visual construction of the East as an Other.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Art History

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

UNM Department of Art and Art History

First Committee Member (Chair)

Justine M. Andrews

Second Committee Member

Susanne Anderson-Riedel

Third Committee Member

Ray Hernández-Durán

Keywords

Symbolism, nineteenth-century, Elihu Vedder, Gustave Moreau, Orientalism, Spiritualism

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