Late 19th Century - Symbolism is a 19th-century movement in which art became infused with exaggerated sensitivity and a spooky mysticism. It was a continuation of the Romantic tradition, which included such artists as John Henry Fuseli and Caspar David Friedrich.
Anticipating Freud and Jung, the Symbolists mined mythology and dream imagery for a visual language of the soul. More a philosophical approach than an actual style of art, they influenced their contemporaries in the Art Nouveau movement and Les Nabis.
The leading Symbolists included Gustave Moreau, Puvis de Chavannes, and Odilon Redon.
The movement was also a major influence on some of the Expressionists, especially on the work of Franz von Stuck and Edvard Munch.