The Symbolist movement in Romania, active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, marked the development of Romanian culture in both literature and visual arts. Bringing the assimilation of France's Symbolism, Decadence and Parnassianism, it promoted a distinctly urban culture, characterized by cosmopolitanism, Francophilia and endorsement of Westernization, and was generally opposed to either rural themes or patriotic displays in art. Like its Western European counterparts, the movement stood for idealism, sentimentalism or exoticism, alongside a noted interest in spirituality and esotericism, covering on its own the ground between local Romanticism and the emerging modernism of the fin de siècle. Despite such unifying traits, Romanian Symbolism was an eclectic, factionalized and often self-contradictory current.
Originally presided upon by poet and novelist Alexandru Macedonski, founder of Literatorul magazine, the movement sparked much controversy with its stated disregard for established convention. The original circle of Symbolists made adversaries among the conservative Junimea club, as well as among the traditionalist writers affiliated with Sămănătorul review and the left-wing Poporanists. However, Romanian Symbolism also radiated within these venues: sympathetic to Junimeas art for art's sake principles, it also communicated to neoromantic sensibilities within the traditionalist clubs, and comprised a socialist wing of its own. In parallel, the notoriety of Macedonski's circle contributed to the development of other influential Symbolist and post-Symbolist venues, including Ovid Densusianu's Vieața Nouă and Ion Minulescu's Revista Celor L'alți, as well as to the birth of artists' clubs such as Tinerimea Artistică. The latter category of Symbolist venues helped introduce and promote the aesthetics of Art Nouveau, Vienna Secession, post-Impressionism and related schools.
Before and during World War I, with the birth of magazines such as Simbolul and Chemarea, the modernist current within Symbolism mutated into the avant-garde trend, while the more conservative Symbolist circles made a return to Neoclassicism. Other manifestations of Symbolism, prolonged by the ideology of Eugen Lovinescu's Sburătorul review, continued to play a part in Romanian cultural life throughout the interwar period.
Early Symbolism
Origins
The ground for Parnassianism and Symbolism in Romania was prepared by the Romania public's introduction to the poetry and essays of Charles Baudelaire. One participant in this process was the French author Ange Pechméja, exiled for his opposition to the Second Empire, who settled in Bucharest and published what is purportedly the first article on Baudelaire to have been circulated in the region.Howard Eiland, Michael W. Jennings, notes to Walter Benjamin, "Central Park", in The Complete Works of Walter Benjamin, Volume 4: 1938-1940, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2003, p.197. The earliest echoes from within the country were found among the Junimists: as early as the 1870s, the club's magazine Convorbiri Literare published several works by Baudelaire, translated from French by Vasile Pogor.Cernat, p.8 Some of these texts had echoes in Junimist literature. Active later in the decade, poet Mihai Eminescu probably accommodated some Symbolist themes into his own Romantic and pessimistic fantasy works, most notably in his 1872 novel Poor Dionis.Marian, passim Junimea poet Veronica Micle (Eminescu's lover) may also have assimilated the nostalgia typical of French Symbolists. Elena Vulcănescu, "Valeria Micle Sturdza", in Convorbiri Literare, August 2009
Another point of contact stood at the core of Junimist theory, where the group's doyen, Titu Maiorescu, had placed the concept of "art for art's sake", stating his opposition to the didacticism endorsed by his various rivals while aligning himself with Schopenhauerian aesthetics and other constructs of German philosophy. This approach also showed Maiorescu's appreciation for the artistic principles of American poet Edgar Allan Poe, who was a direct influence on the French Symbolists or Parnassians—the Junimist philosopher had in fact read Poe's theoretical essays, "The Poetic Principle" and "The Philosophy of Composition", in a French-language translation signed by Baudelaire.Carlson, p.75-76; Ornea, p.52, 54 However, Maiorescu generally ignored and at times expressed a strong rejection of French-inspired modern literary schools, either Parnassian or Symbolist.Călinescu, p.412-413, 437, 685. See also: Ornea, p.53, 117, 301-304; Vianu, Vol. II, p.45-46, 243
Despite such contacts, the earliest form of native Symbolism emerged from the mainstream, non-Junimist, Romantic tradition. Literary historian Paul Cernat argues that the Symbolist movement's later evolution reflected an original clash of ideas, between the "metaphysical, conservative and Germanophile" nature of Junimism and the "revolutionary, cosmopolitan, progressivist and Francophile" position of Romanian Romanticism.Cernat, p.10 A product of the Romantic school in Romania's southern area of Wallachia, Alexandru Macedonski provoked scandal by openly challenging the dominance of Junimist figures. One such ill-famed campaign focused on Eminescu, who was coming to be recognized as Romania's national poet, and who stood for political conservatism, folkloric traditionalism, ethnic nationalism and the direct influence of German Romanticism. , "Rivalul lui Eminescu", in România Literară, Nr. 27/2009Călinescu, p.230, 242, 407, 412, 520-521, 683; Cernat, p.10-11; Vianu, Vol. II, p.243, 351-360, 379, 387; Vol. III, p.353-356 In reference to these incidents, critic noted: "Actually, with the incompatibility between Maiorescu and Macedonski, between Junimea and the Macedonskian club, a border is traced [...] separating the 19th century from the 20th." While Eminescu's approach still evolved within the limits set by Junimea, it served to inspire a large number of non-Junimist traditionalists, whose didacticism, shaped by populist values, was hotly opposed by Macedonski and his followers.Călinescu, p.556-559, 643, 683; Cernat, p.14-15; Sandqvist, p.60-62, 197, 200, 202, 281. See also: Braga, p.16; Șotropa (2009), p.39
Such conflicts were aired by means of Macedonski's Bucharest-based Literatorul review. Initially a purely anti-Junimist platform hosting contributions from aging Romantic writers (Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Bonifaciu Florescu, V. A. Urechia etc.), it closed down several times and eventually reemerged as the main platform of early Romanian Symbolism.Călinescu, p.515-543; Vianu, Vol. II, p.243, 351-393, 387-389, 398, 418-419, 420, 472-473, 483; Vol. III, p.355-356, 384-386. See also: Ornea, p.137, 233, 301-304, 308-309; Suciu, p.103-104 The circle had among its representatives a number of Macedonski's young disciples and colleagues, themselves more or less influenced by the aesthetics of Decadence and Symbolism: Th. M. Stoenescu, Dumitru Constantinescu-Teleormăneanu, Caton Theodorian, Carol Scrob, Dumitru Karnabatt, Mircea Demetriade, Donar Munteanu etc.Călinescu, p.523, 531-532, 594-597, 701-702, 719; Vianu, Vol. II, p.351, 359-360, 373-374, 391 Macedonski's own participation in Symbolism had an international character. It dates back to the mid-1880s, when his French-language poems were first published in French or Belgian Symbolist periodicals (La Wallonie and L'Élan Littéraire).Cernat, p.11-12; Sandqvist, p.197; Suciu, p.104, 109; Vianu, Vol. II, p.362; M. Vida (2007), p.55 Dan Gulea, "Activ, retroactiv", in Apostrof, Nr. 8/2007 In subsequent decades, the Romanian writer made repeated efforts to consolidate his reputation as a European Symbolist and enhance the profile of his Literatorul group, publishing his fantasy novel Thalassa, Le Calvaire de feu in Paris and establishing personal contacts with French and Francophone authors.Boia, p.190-191, 245; Cernat, p.11-12, 42, 88-89, 184, 402; Sandqvist, p.199-200, 240; Suciu, p.106-107; Vianu, Vol. II, p.369-371, 376-379, 381, 420, 436-448, 467-472; Vol. III, p.352-353
Symbolism between Macedonski and Petică
Analyzing the overall eclectic nature of the movement originating with Literatorul, concluded: "on Romanian territory, all currents united themselves into a synthetic 'newism' ".Cernat, p.12 Similarly, literary historian Mircea Braga argued that Romanian Symbolism was more a state of mind than a program, its theses being "numerous and often imprecise".Braga, p.8 In line with these developments, the Symbolist milieus had as a shared focus their admiration for the Third French Republic, and for Paris as la Cité des Lumières ("the City of Lights").Cernat, p.16, 17, 59. See also: Boia, p.61, 102-103, 190-191, 235, 245-246; Sandqvist, p.119, 120, 197-200, 203, 240, 302; Șotropa (2009), p.38-39; Suciu, p.102, 103-110
As another unifying element in their post-Romantic opposition to the traditionalists and their advocacy of national specificity, the emerging Symbolists generally valued cosmopolitan individualism and cultivated exoticism. In this context, Dimitrie Anghel attracted critical praise with elaborate fantasy prose and floral-themed lyric poetry, rich in Decadentist and eccentric imagery.Călinescu, p.302, 563, 603, 652, 683, 687-691, 750-751, 832, 835, 845, 858, 864, 960; Cernat, p.11, 18-19, 73, 351 Outside the fold of regular Symbolism, but directly inspired by François Coppée, Haralamb Lecca delved into macabre subjects.Călinescu, p.592 More frequently, the choice of exotic subjects was modeled on Macedonski's poems, and fed by echoes of the major explorations, which were becoming familiar news in Romania. Mircea Anghelescu, "Călătoriile, între literatură și viața reală", in Observator Cultural, Nr. 312, March 2006 Ioan Stanomir, "Toate pînzele sus!", in Observator Cultural, Nr. 100, January 2002 This fashion was notably illustrated by Iuliu Cezar Săvescu, who sang the deserts and the polar regions.Călinescu, p.686 In later years, Karnabatt and his wife Lucrezzia took Symbolism to the realm of travel writing.Angelo Mitchievici, "Dimitrie et Lucrezzia Karnabatt: voyages symbolistes", in Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Série Beaux-arts, 2007, p.95-102
The "Bovaryist" and "snobbish" tendency, Cernat notes, was what made many members of the movement seek to acquire for themselves an urban identity which clashed with the rural ideal and the religious mainstream.Cernat, p.15-19 One other defining trait, which endured as a distinct tradition within Romanian Symbolism, was Macedonski's interest in alternatives to established religion, primarily manifested by his esoteric studies, and taken up by his disciples Karnabatt, Alexandru Petroff,Cernat, p.11, 17. See also Vianu, Vol. II, p.372-373, 386, 389, 430 and Alexandru Obedenaru. Șerban Foarță, "La masa intelectualilor", in România Literară, Nr. 38/2003 In later manifestations of Symbolism and Decadentism, this interest merged itself with a stated or implicit preference of other affiliates for Roman Catholicism in front of the majority religion, Romanian Orthodoxy.Cernat, p.17, 42 Some of these ideas were also inspiring the Romanian-born aristocrat Charles-Adolphe Cantacuzène, who was debuting as a poet in France, and who borrowed his mystical subjects from the Symbolist doyen Stéphane Mallarmé.Houssais, p.33-34