Gustave Moreau's La Vie de l'Humanité

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    Gustave

    Moreau s

    L a

    V i e e

    l'humanite :

    Orpheus

    n

    t h

    ontext o f

    Religious

    Syncretis

    Universal

    Histories,

    n d

    Occultism

    By Dorothy

    M. Kosinski

    he

    figure

    of

    Orpheus

    ominates he

    work of Gustave Moreau.'

    La Vie

    de l'humanith (Fig. 1) is paradigmatic

    of

    Moreau's

    aesthetic: the

    significance

    of

    Orpheus

    and the

    mingling

    of

    pagan

    myth

    and

    Biblical

    story

    are

    typical

    both

    of the artist's fascination

    with

    the

    priestly poet-initiate

    and of his

    preoccu-

    pation

    with

    religious

    and cultural

    syn-

    cretism.

    This

    painting,

    however,

    reflects

    more

    than an individual artist's obsession

    with

    the

    orphic

    mysteries.

    It is a manifesta-

    tion of a broad intellectual

    and

    philo-

    sophical

    current in the nineteenth cen-

    tury

    that

    generated

    universal

    histories,

    palingenetic

    theories,

    world

    mythogra-

    phies, syncretic studies of religions, and

    an

    enthusiasm for the occult

    and

    mysti-

    cism.

    Myths

    and

    legends

    were valued as

    the

    keys

    not

    only

    to reveal

    past

    cultures,

    but

    also to

    understand

    the current direc-

    tion

    of

    society,

    and

    even to

    predict

    the

    future of mankind-the bases then of

    broad

    philosophical systems.

    There was

    an intoxication with the idea of an initial

    golden age

    of civilization.

    In

    search

    for

    the matrix

    of

    civilization,

    philologists

    examined the

    origins

    of

    language,

    litera-

    ture,

    and

    religions

    of

    cultures

    past

    and

    present. Linguists

    traced

    the

    develop-

    ment of language, positing an original

    era of

    communication

    involving

    the

    exchange

    of

    uncorrupted

    forms.

    The

    traditional

    rigid

    boundaries

    separating

    the

    Judaeo-Christian

    tradition from

    the

    Greco-Roman

    pantheon

    and from

    East-

    ern

    religions

    softened,

    as historians of

    religion

    sought

    for a

    universal

    derivation

    of

    all

    sacred

    doctrines.

    Symbolism par-

    takes of this

    generally syncretic

    appre-

    ciation

    of

    cultural

    history, myth,

    reli-

    gion,

    and

    language.

    This

    spirit

    of

    cultural

    syncretism

    is

    embodied in

    two

    seminal

    works,

    one

    dating

    from the

    beginning

    and the other

    from the end

    of the

    century. Georg

    Friedrich Creuzer's Symbolik und

    Mythologie

    der

    alten

    V6lker,

    first

    pub-

    lished

    in

    1810-12,

    is a vast

    syncretic

    study

    of world

    religions.

    Orpheus,

    in

    his

    roles as initiate

    in

    Eastern

    mysteries,

    priest

    of the

    Dionysian

    cults,

    bringer

    of

    civilization

    to

    Greece,

    is

    an

    important

    figure

    in

    Creuzer's

    work,

    linking

    the

    esoteric traditions

    of

    East

    and

    West,

    and

    confirming thereby

    the author's central

    theory

    that there exists

    a common

    source

    for all of man's

    development

    (an

    evolution

    envisaged

    as

    essentially

    spiri-

    tual or

    religious).

    Edouard

    Schur6's

    Grands

    Initibs,

    first

    published

    in

    1889,

    is a highly influentialTheosophicaltext

    that celebrates

    Rama, Krishna,

    Hermes, Moses,

    Pythagoras,

    Orpheus,

    Plato,

    Christ,

    and Buddha as

    prophets

    of

    a

    single

    truth.

    Like

    Creuzer,

    Schur

    claims

    Orpheus

    as the

    great

    hierophant,

    priest

    of

    Dionysian mysteries

    who

    brings

    to Greece the truths

    of

    sacred

    Egypt.

    A

    number of

    specific parallels

    exist

    between

    Moreau's Vie

    de

    l'humanitM

    and

    literary

    works or theoretical texts

    by

    the

    syncretist

    historians and occultist

    philosophers

    of the nineteenth

    century.

    For

    instance,

    several

    compositional,

    the-

    matic, and iconographic elements are

    common to the

    painting

    and to

    works

    by

    the

    mystic philosopher

    and

    writer Pierre

    Simon

    Ballanche,

    the

    philosopher

    and

    painter

    Paul Marc

    Chenavard,

    and the

    mystics

    and occultists

    Eliphas

    Levi,

    Jos6phin P61adan,

    and

    Papus.

    The most

    significant points

    include the

    central

    importance

    of

    Orpheus,

    the

    juxtaposi-

    tion of

    pagan myth

    and

    Biblical

    story

    (specifically

    the

    myth

    of

    Orpheus

    and

    passages

    from

    Genesis),

    the

    prominence

    of the

    redemptive

    Christ,

    a

    cyclical pat-

    tern for mankind's

    development-most

    frequently

    perceived

    as a

    degeneration

    or

    negative

    unfolding-and

    a

    system

    of

    par-

    allels between theseages of mankindand

    the

    stages

    of

    the

    life of the individual.

    M

    oreau's

    painting

    has the

    imposing

    appearance

    of an

    altar,

    the ten

    images

    surrounded

    and unified

    by

    a

    heavy

    gilt

    frame.

    The

    sequence

    of the

    panels-nine rectangular images

    ar-

    ranged

    in

    three rows of three

    panels

    each,

    surmounted

    by

    the semicircular

    lunette

    with

    the

    image

    of

    Christ-

    implies

    a

    cyclical

    movement of

    history,

    a

    disintegration

    redeemed

    by

    the

    victory

    of the

    greatest

    initiate,

    the

    Resurrection

    of

    Christ.

    The

    top

    row

    depicts

    Adam

    and Eve: The Age of Gold- Prayer,

    Ecstasy,

    and

    Sleep ;

    the middle

    row

    Orpheus:

    The

    Age

    of

    Silver-- Inspira-

    tion,

    Song,

    and

    Tears

    (Figs.

    2,3,

    and

    4);

    the bottom

    row Cain

    and

    Abel:

    The

    Age

    of

    Iron- Work, Rest,

    and

    Death. The

    Greek

    myth

    of

    Orpehus

    is, thus,

    sandwiched

    between

    two

    stories

    from

    Genesis.

    Moreau's own

    commentary

    on

    the

    work

    focuses on the

    complex

    interrela-

    tionships

    of the

    panels.

    The

    painting

    is

    intended to

    present

    the

    stages

    of man-

    kind's

    development

    (golden

    age,

    silver

    age, iron age) and the growth of the

    individual

    (childhood,

    youth,

    maturity).

    It is

    arranged,

    moreover,

    according

    to

    the

    cycle

    of

    the

    day

    (morning,

    noon,

    evening).

    Moreau

    also

    delineates

    more

    subtle

    progressions:

    evels

    of

    religious

    or

    spiritual

    concentration

    (prayer,

    ecstasy,

    sleep),

    of

    artistic

    effort

    (inspiration,

    song,

    tears),

    and of

    productive

    labor

    (work,

    rest,

    death).

    The

    development

    and

    increasing

    so-

    phistication

    of

    mankind,

    the

    movement

    from

    primitive

    to

    civilized

    state,

    is

    viewed

    as a

    gradual

    deterioration,

    a fall

    Spring

    1987

    9

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    Fig.

    1

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    La Vie de

    l'humanite,

    1886,

    oil

    on

    wood,

    nine

    panels,

    each: 33.5 x 25.5

    cm; lunette,

    37 x 94

    cm.

    Paris,

    Mus6e

    Gustave

    Moreau.

    Fig.

    2

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    Le

    matin,

    L'inspiration, panel

    from La Vie de

    l'humanite.

    Fig.

    3 Gustave

    Moreau,

    Le

    midi,

    Le

    chant,

    panel

    from La Vie de

    l'humanite.

    Fig.

    4

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    Le

    soir,

    Les

    larmes,

    panel

    from La

    Vie de

    l'Humanite.

    Fig.

    2

    Fig.

    3

    Fig.

    4

    from grace, a corruptionof innocence.

    The

    sequence

    within the vertical col-

    umns

    expresses

    this

    process

    of

    degenera-

    tion: from

    prayer

    to

    inspiration

    to

    work;

    from

    ecstasy

    to

    song

    to

    rest;

    from

    sleep

    to

    tears

    to death.

    Indeed,

    a loss

    of

    Para-

    dise

    may

    be seen

    as

    the

    overriding

    heme

    of the nine

    panels,

    connecting

    the Bibli-

    cal and

    mythical

    stories:

    Adam and Eve

    are

    compelled

    to leave

    Paradise;

    Or-

    pheus'

    serene world is

    shattered

    by

    his

    loss of

    Eurydice-he

    loses

    the

    trans-

    forming

    power

    of his music and

    ulti-

    mately

    his own life as

    punishment

    for his

    untimely revelation of the mysteries or

    transgression

    of divine

    rules;

    Cain

    stains

    the

    earthly

    paradise

    with the

    murder of

    his

    brother

    Abel.

    Unifying

    all is sin

    itself:

    Original

    Sin,

    Orpheus' glance

    back

    at

    Eurydice,

    Cain's murder of

    Abel.

    Between

    the Paradise of first

    man and

    the

    corrupt

    world of

    societal

    man,

    Orpheus

    represents

    the

    incipient stages

    of

    civilization.

    Indeed,

    the central

    panel

    of

    the

    entire work

    presents

    the

    Apolline

    Orpheus

    bathed in

    the

    brilliant

    sunlight

    of

    midday,

    singing

    and

    playing

    his

    lyre,

    10

    Art

    Journal

  • 8/10/2019 Gustave Moreau's La Vie de l'Humanit

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    attended

    by

    his

    muse,

    surrounded

    by

    becalmed

    beasts and

    flourishing

    trees,

    enchanting

    all

    by

    the

    power

    of his

    music.

    Classical

    mythology

    is filled with

    the

    embodiments of

    the

    beginnings

    of

    civili-

    zation,

    the

    harbingers

    of

    knowledge

    and

    art:

    Prometheus, Daedalus,

    Hephaistos,

    as well as

    Orpheus.

    Moreau

    specifically

    acknowledges

    the

    appropriateness

    of

    pagan mythology

    to

    represent

    the

    begin-

    nings

    of

    civilization:

    Intelligence

    and

    poetry

    are

    much

    better

    personified

    in

    these whole epochs of art and imagina-

    tion

    (pagan antiquity)

    than

    in

    the

    Bible,

    steeped

    as it is in

    feeling

    and

    religious-

    ness. 2

    The artist's

    commentary,

    how-

    ever,

    does not

    provide

    a

    specific

    explana-

    tion

    for

    the source of his inclusion of

    Orpheus

    n

    this otherwise Christian con-

    text.3

    An

    obvious

    parallel

    to

    and

    likely

    source

    for

    Moreau's use

    of

    Orpheus

    in

    a

    Biblical context is the

    frequent depiction

    of

    Orpheus

    in

    Early

    Christian art.

    Art-

    ists in the

    early

    Christian

    period

    exploited

    the

    parallel

    between the

    magic

    of

    Orpheus'

    music and the

    calming

    effect of the Divine Word and

    perceived

    in the

    image

    of

    Orpheus

    among

    the

    beasts an

    analogy

    to Christ

    surrounded

    by

    his

    flock.4

    In the

    generally syncretic

    atmosphere

    of the

    dying days

    of

    pagan-

    ism,

    and

    especially

    in the context of the

    correspondences

    between

    Orphism

    and

    Christianity,

    the

    lyre-playing Orpheus

    among

    the becalmed animals was fre-

    quently depicted

    in

    catacombs,

    on

    sarco-

    phagi,

    and in

    other

    contexts

    as

    well.

    That the

    excavations

    of

    the cata-

    combs

    during

    the latter half of the nine-

    teenth

    century

    were

    widely

    known and

    well documented makes it likely that

    Moreau was

    aware of

    this tradition. He

    was

    probably

    familiar

    with

    the famous

    image

    of

    Orpheus

    from

    the

    ceiling

    of

    the

    catacomb of

    Domitilla'

    (Fig.

    5).

    This

    painting

    is a clear

    precedent

    for the

    depiction

    of

    Orpheus

    taming

    the ani-

    mals

    in

    the center

    of

    a Christian icono-

    graphic

    scheme. In a central

    octagonal,

    the

    lyre-playing Orpheus, clearly recog-

    nizeable

    by

    his

    Phrygian

    attire,

    sits

    among

    various

    animals,

    flanked

    by

    trees.

    Eight

    smaller

    scenes

    encircle this

    central

    image:

    four

    pastoral settings

    (two with rams, two with bulls) alter-

    nate with four

    Biblical

    subjects (Moses

    drawing

    water from

    a

    rock,

    Daniel as

    Orant between two

    lions,

    Christ

    raising

    Lazarus,

    David with his

    slingshot).

    The

    commentary

    that

    accompanies

    this

    image

    in P.R. Garucci's

    Storia della

    arte cristiana nei

    primi

    otto secoli della

    chiesa

    (1873)

    identifies Christ as the

    new,

    the

    real

    Orpheus:

    Christ,

    the non-

    fabulous

    Orpheus, truly

    he

    led man

    fromanimal

    existence to

    a

    life of reason

    and

    taught

    him the

    way

    of

    virtue

    and

    happiness. 6

    This statement

    is conso-

    ::-:i:::::-i:i:l:::ili-i:::l-:i-iiil:ii:-i-:~~;~,~~

    ::1:

    ?:-

    : :::::::

    ii, :

    :i

    _?

    :-:?-::--:::_:-::::-:-i:;:::::::::

    :: -

    : :::i:::::: ::::::-:i`:1?-:-:;:;:::-:i:;::-:-_:':-:- :

    Fig.

    5

    Orpheus,

    3rd

    century,

    fresco.

    Rome,

    ceiling

    of the Catacomb

    of

    Domitilla.

    nant with the

    syncretism

    of

    the univer-

    salist

    historians,

    who viewed

    Orpheus

    as

    one of a succession of

    initiates

    culminat-

    ing

    in Christ.

    Moreau,

    however,

    was

    probably

    interested less in

    a

    specific

    compositional

    model

    than in

    the

    corre-

    spondence

    between the

    intellectual

    syn-

    cretism of the

    nineteenth

    century

    and

    the

    religious

    syncretism

    of

    the

    Early

    Christian

    period.

    Thus

    it

    is

    important

    to

    examine

    how the

    painting

    manifests

    this

    broad

    intellectual

    current of the

    period

    and to

    analyze specific

    elements

    that

    it

    shares with the

    works and theories of

    universal

    historians,

    mythographers

    of

    world

    religions,

    and occultists.

    n earlier

    manifestation

    f

    this

    syn-

    cretism-and a

    highly

    influential

    one-is

    Eugene

    Delacroix's

    cycle

    of

    paintings

    executed between

    1838 and

    1847 for the Libraryof the Palais Bour-

    bon in

    Paris

    (Fig.

    6).

    Orpheus

    is

    repre-

    sented there

    as

    instituting

    civilization,

    a

    level in

    man's education or

    initiation.

    This

    movement towards

    sophistication

    is,

    however,

    interpreted

    as

    a

    gradual

    loss

    of

    purity

    leading ultimately

    to man's

    fall.

    Delacroix's work

    may

    well

    be a

    source for

    Moreau's notion of

    Orpheus'

    role in

    the

    degenerative

    movement of

    history.

    One

    may

    discern in

    Delacroix's

    work-as well

    as

    in

    Moreau's-the

    influence

    of

    Giovanni

    Battista

    Vico's

    cyclical theoryof history. In his Scienza

    nuova

    (1744)

    Vico

    posited

    a succession

    of

    constantly

    repeating cycles.

    His

    phi-

    losophy

    was

    humanistic.

    Humanity,

    he

    believed,

    creates its

    institutions:

    lan-

    guage, religion,

    mythology,

    and

    society

    are

    products

    of

    man's will.

    And all

    man's

    creations

    are

    subject

    to

    historical

    analysis.

    Vico's

    Scienza

    nuova had

    widespread

    impact

    on

    the

    intellectual

    circles of

    the

    nineteenth

    century.

    His

    influence

    is reflected in

    the works of

    Ballanche,

    Edgar Quinet,

    Jules Michel-

    et,

    Chenavard,

    and

    Philippe

    Benjamin

    Buchez,

    especially

    in their

    concepts

    of

    a

    universal

    history;

    their

    synthesis

    of

    lan-

    guage,

    myth,

    and

    religion,

    as well

    as

    their

    belief in a

    spiritual

    center

    to

    man's

    existence and

    development.7

    Pierre Simon

    Ballanche's

    Orpheus,

    writtenin 1827 and

    published

    in

    1830,

    is

    the

    only completed portion

    of La

    Palin-

    genbsie

    sociale ou

    thbodicee

    de

    l'his-

    toire.8

    This

    rambling

    epic,

    characterized

    by

    a

    lofty

    if confused ambition

    to

    ascer-

    tain

    the truth of

    history,

    the

    meaning

    of

    religion, and the significanceof man in

    the

    universe,

    combines

    religion,

    mythol-

    ogy,

    philology,

    philosophy,

    and

    occul-

    tism.

    Ballanche

    espoused

    a

    theory

    of

    palingenesis,

    a

    concept

    of

    evolution

    through

    cycles

    or

    stages

    of

    development.

    Although

    focused on a

    conventional

    Christian

    notion of Fall and

    Redemp-

    tion,

    this

    cyclical

    vision of

    history

    involves,

    as

    well,

    a belief in reincarna-

    tion

    or

    metempsychosis.

    Mankind

    evolves in

    a

    series

    of

    stages

    that

    parallel

    the

    biological

    sequence

    of

    youth,

    matu-

    rity,

    and death. Mankind

    struggles

    through eternallyrepeatedcycles

    of fall

    and

    expiation,

    test and

    redemption,

    until

    he

    reattains a state of

    perfection,

    the

    perfect unity

    of

    Adam,

    the

    primordial

    Androgyne.

    This arduous

    evolution

    towards the

    ideal of

    perfect unity

    takes

    place

    through

    the

    ascension of

    what

    Ballanche

    terms the

    plebeian

    princi-

    ple. '9

    n each

    plebeian

    age,

    an

    initiate

    reveals

    a

    higher

    wisdom that over-

    whelms the

    established,

    traditional

    pa-

    trician law.

    Despite

    his

    creative

    syncre-

    tism,

    Ballanche's

    philosophy

    of

    social

    palingenesis

    functions

    within the

    perim-

    eters of

    Christian or

    Catholic doctrine:

    Christ is the supremeinitiate, Christian-

    ity

    is

    the

    last

    step

    before

    perfection,

    and

    the

    truths of all

    earlier

    religions

    are

    contained

    within

    Christianity.

    Ballanche's

    Orpheus spans

    fifteen

    centuries of

    history

    but is

    focused

    pri-

    marily

    on

    the

    history

    of

    Rome. The

    narrative

    involves

    stories within

    stories:

    the blind

    bard,

    Thamyris,

    and

    the

    Egyp-

    tian

    priests explain

    Aeneas' arrival in

    Italy

    to

    King

    Evander

    of Latium. A

    major

    theme

    here,

    as

    with the

    compara-

    tive

    mythographers,

    is the

    transmission

    of sacred

    truths from the East via

    Egypt

    to Greece. The story of Orpheus is

    folded into

    this

    complex

    narrative. Bal-

    lanche

    imaginatively,

    even

    wildly,

    com-

    bines

    myth, legend,

    and

    historical

    fact

    without

    regard

    for

    chronology, original

    content,

    or

    meaning.

    He is

    interested

    less in the traditional

    mythological fig-

    ure

    of

    Orpheus

    than in

    his role as ini-

    tiate,

    revealer of

    truth,

    instrument of

    man's

    evolution from one

    palingenetic

    stage

    to

    another. In the

    prologue

    Bal-

    lanche

    explains

    that

    Orpheus

    is

    an

    abstraction,

    a

    powerful symbolic

    expres-

    sion of the traditions of

    antiquity.

    This

    Spring

    1987

    11

  • 8/10/2019 Gustave Moreau's La Vie de l'Humanit

    5/7

    4

    gll

    Fig.

    6

    Eugene

    Delacroix,

    Orphke

    vient

    policer

    les

    Grecs

    encore

    sauvages

    et

    leur

    enseigner

    les arts de

    la

    paix,

    1838-1847,

    oil mural.

    Paris,

    Library

    of

    the Palais

    Bourbon.

    manipulation

    of

    myth

    is

    entirely

    consis-

    tent

    with

    Ballanche's

    concern

    with

    the

    poetry

    of

    thought, l2

    his

    concepts

    that

    religion

    is an

    allegorical

    history

    of

    nature

    and

    that

    mythology

    is a

    con-

    densed

    history. 13

    allanche's

    use

    of

    Orpheus

    as

    a

    symbolic

    entity

    parallels

    Moreau's

    interpretation

    of

    Orpheus

    and

    pagan

    mythology

    in

    general

    as the

    appropriate

    representation

    for

    the

    dawnings

    of

    civilization.

    Paul

    Marc

    Chenavard's

    series

    of

    paintings

    and

    sculpture

    proposed

    in

    1848

    for

    the Pantheon

    in

    Paris,

    as

    well

    as

    his

    outlines

    for two

    epic

    poems,

    share

    important

    characteristics

    with

    Bal-

    lanche's

    Orpheus

    and

    Moreau's

    Vie

    de

    l'humanite:

    the

    central

    symbolic

    role

    of

    Orpheus,

    religious

    syncretism,

    a

    degenerative

    cyclical

    history,

    and

    a

    sys-

    tem

    of

    analogies

    between

    stages

    of

    man-

    kind's

    development

    and

    the

    growth

    of

    the individual.

    Chenavard's

    ll-fated

    program

    for

    the

    Pantheon

    was to

    have

    consisted

    of

    111

    painted

    panels,

    5

    mosaics,

    6

    statues,

    and

    a

    monument

    to

    universal

    religion.

    The

    program,

    which

    would

    have

    comprised

    scenes

    both

    from the

    Old

    and

    New

    Tes-

    taments

    and

    from ancient

    and

    modern

    history

    (including

    vignettes

    from

    the

    ancient

    Near

    East,

    Greece,

    Rome,

    the

    Middle

    Ages,

    the

    rise of

    Islam,

    the

    Crusades,

    the

    Renaissance,

    the

    expan-

    sion

    of

    America

    and

    episodes

    from

    the

    lives

    of

    Luther,

    Voltaire,

    and

    Napo-

    leon), embodiesthe concept of the ency-

    clopedic epic

    of

    modern

    man.

    The

    monument

    to universal

    religion

    was

    a

    symbolic

    amalgam

    of

    the

    Brahminic

    cow,

    the Persian

    gryphon,

    the Chaldean

    Sphinx,

    the

    Egyptian

    Bark

    of the

    Dead,

    the

    Arc of the

    Convenant,

    all

    sur-

    mounted

    by

    the

    Chalice

    of the

    Last

    Supper.

    This

    sculpture,

    which was

    to

    have

    been

    executed

    in

    granite

    and

    mar-

    ble,

    was

    conceived

    as an altar

    for all

    the

    peoples

    of the

    world14

    Fig.

    7).

    Chenavard's

    gloomy

    theory

    of

    history

    is

    precise.

    Time

    begins

    with

    the

    year

    4200

    B.C.,

    reaches its

    halfway

    point

    and

    zenith

    with the

    birth

    of

    Christ,

    and

    deteriorates

    to

    a final

    destruction

    in

    A.D.

    4200. These

    8,400

    years

    are

    derived

    from a

    1:100

    comparative

    ratio

    with an

    individual's

    ideal

    lifespan

    of 84

    years.

    This

    cycle

    is

    divided

    into four

    phases:

    Adam and

    Eve to

    the

    Tower of

    Babel;

    the

    Tower

    of

    Babel

    to the birth

    of

    Christ;

    the birth

    of

    Christ

    to the

    rise

    of

    America;

    and the

    rise of

    America

    to the

    end

    of civilization

    in 4200. Each

    of these

    broad cultural, religious, and societal

    stages

    was

    to be embodied

    in the

    decora-

    tion

    of the

    four

    great piers

    of the

    Pan-

    theon.

    The focus

    of each

    scheme

    was

    a

    single great

    initiate,

    a

    concept

    like Bal-

    lanche's

    spontaneous

    men.

    The

    first

    phase

    was

    identified

    as

    the

    Age

    of Gold

    (religion,

    centered

    on the

    figure

    of

    Moses);

    the

    second

    was

    the

    Age

    of

    Sil-

    ver

    (poetry

    and

    Homer);

    the

    third the

    Age

    of

    Bronze

    (philosophy

    and

    Aristot-

    le);

    the fourth

    the

    Age

    of

    Iron

    (science

    and

    Galileo).

    The

    similarity

    between

    Chenavard's

    scheme

    and

    Moreau's

    sys-

    tem

    of

    analogies

    in La Vie

    d'humanite

    is clear.

    Chenavard

    also

    conceived

    two

    epic

    poems

    with

    the

    theme

    of

    Orpheus,

    one

    proposed

    n

    outline

    to his friend

    Laprade

    in

    1839

    and

    the

    second

    sketched

    out

    towards

    the end

    of

    his life.

    Like Bal-

    lanche,

    Chenavard

    discovered

    in

    Or-

    pheus

    a

    profound

    expression

    of

    his his-

    torical

    philosophy.

    He

    planned

    to

    explore

    the

    four

    phases

    of

    history

    through

    the

    story

    of the

    relationship

    of

    Orpheus

    and

    Eurydice.

    In

    the

    first

    stage,

    Orpheus

    is

    in

    Egypt,

    where he

    begins

    architecture,

    building

    a

    temple

    to

    the goddess Psyche. The second stage

    unfolds

    in Greece

    as

    Orpheus

    honors

    Psyche

    in

    her

    human

    form,

    Eurydice,

    with

    his

    sculpture.

    In the third

    phase,

    Eurydice

    is revived as

    the

    Virgin

    Mary

    through

    the

    power

    of

    Orpheus'

    music.

    This time

    Orpheus

    expresses

    his love

    through painting.

    In the

    final

    stage,

    Orpheus

    (the

    ideal)

    is

    destroyed by

    his

    brother,

    Typhon

    (the

    embodiment

    of

    materialism).

    Chenavard

    traces

    his reli-

    gious-artistic

    ages

    within

    the context

    of

    the

    myth

    of

    Orpheus,

    manipulating

    myth

    and

    history

    with a

    freedom

    simi-

    lar, once again, to the creative invention

    of

    Ballanche.16

    The interest

    in esoteric

    religions

    and

    occult

    philosophies

    may

    be

    compared

    to

    the efforts

    of the

    universal

    historians

    and

    syncretic

    mythographers

    to

    link

    past

    and

    present,

    to absorb

    the

    variety

    of

    man's

    history

    into a

    single

    unifying

    truth.

    The exclusive

    doctrines

    of conven-

    tional

    religions

    were

    rejected

    in favor of

    a

    syncretic

    vision

    embracing

    a succes-

    sion

    of

    multiple

    revelations

    through

    cen-

    turies.

    Typically,

    Orpheus

    was

    the

    focus,

    the

    metaphoric

    key

    in

    these

    occult

    schemes.

    It is

    not at all

    surprising

    that

    many

    of

    the

    major

    historians and

    mythographers,

    including

    Quinet,

    Michelet,

    and

    Alfred

    Maury,

    studied

    and wrote

    extensively

    on esoteric reli-

    gions

    and

    magic.

    The

    Abbe

    Alphonse

    Louis

    Constant,

    better

    known

    as

    Eliphas

    Levi,

    was

    one of

    the most colorful

    and

    prominent

    occul-

    tists.

    His

    extensive

    writings

    reveal

    his

    youthful

    training

    towards

    the

    priest-

    hood,

    his interest

    in Fourierisme

    and

    other socialist-mystical movements, as

    well as

    his

    syncretist

    religious

    philoso-

    phy.17

    He writes:

    All the universeis but

    one

    sublime

    temple,

    having

    but one

    king,

    one

    sun,

    and one

    God.

    Orpheus,

    ancestor

    of

    Plato,

    Pythagoras,

    the Alex-

    andrians,

    and

    Pascalis Martines

    and

    his

    disciples, plays

    an

    important

    role

    in the

    revelation

    of

    esoteric

    truth,

    the

    unifying

    principle

    of Levi's

    cosmology.

    Levi com-

    bines

    pagan myth

    and

    Biblical tale.

    For

    example,

    in

    Magie

    en

    grace,

    a

    chapter

    in

    Histoire

    de

    la

    magie

    (1860),

    Levi

    conflates Medea's

    murderof her brother

    with Cain's

    fratricide.

    In

    Clef

    des

    grands

    mysteres

    (1861),

    Adam and Eve

    and Cain

    and Abel

    are

    manipulated

    as

    symbols

    of different

    sides

    of the human

    personality

    or

    psyche.

    Levi

    synthesizes

    all

    religions,

    using

    myth

    and

    Bible

    interchangeably

    to

    inform

    his occult

    philosophy.19

    The

    mystical

    philosophy

    of

    Josephin

    P6ladan,

    who

    adopted

    the title

    Sair

    Merodack

    to

    emphasize

    his

    supposed

    descent

    from

    that

    Assyrian

    king,

    was

    profoundly

    influenced

    by

    Eliphas

    Levi.

    Between

    1892 and

    1896

    P6ladan

    orga-

    nized

    the Salons

    Rose

    +

    Croix

    Catho-

    lique, which constituted a crucial link

    between

    the

    occultist

    milieu

    and

    Sym-

    bolist artists

    and

    writers.

    His Rose

    +

    Croix

    Esthktique,

    published

    in

    conjunc-

    tion

    with

    the

    first

    exhibition,

    was an

    especially

    powerful

    articulation

    of the

    concept

    of art as

    religion,

    artist as

    priest.

    PNladan

    was,

    moreover,

    a

    prolific

    writer,

    whose

    works are

    permeated

    with the

    occultist's

    typical

    preoccupation

    with

    syncretism.2

    Invariably

    PNladan

    links

    paganism

    and

    Christianity,

    establishing

    a succession

    of

    great

    philosophers

    or

    initiates

    (including,

    of

    course,

    Orpheus)

    who reveal a single truth. This fluid

    syncretism

    characterizes

    his

    play

    La

    Terre

    d'Orphbe.

    This

    work,

    which exists

    only

    in

    manuscript

    outlines,

    was

    intended as

    the third

    part

    of

    a

    trilogy

    entitled

    Les

    Idkes

    et les

    formes.

    The

    other two

    sections

    of this

    trilogy

    were

    entitled

    La Terre

    du

    Sphinx (Egypte)

    (1900)

    and

    La Terre

    du Christ

    (Pales-

    tine)

    (1901).21

    P61ladan

    combines the

    biblical

    story

    of Cain and

    Abel with

    the

    myth

    of

    Orpheus

    and

    Eurydice.

    In

    one

    version

    of

    La Terre

    d'Orphbe,

    Jubal

    (named

    in

    Genesis 4:22 as

    one of Cain's

    12

    Art

    Journal

  • 8/10/2019 Gustave Moreau's La Vie de l'Humanit

    6/7

    Fig.

    7

    Paul Marc Chenavard,

    La

    philosophie

    de

    l'Histoire,

    c.

    1848,

    oil on

    canvas,

    303

    x

    380

    cm.

    Lyon,

    Mus6e

    des Beaux-Arts.

    own descendants

    and

    ancestor

    of all

    who

    play

    the

    lyre

    and

    flute)

    is Cain's victim.

    P61adan

    conflates biblical

    and

    pagan

    martyrdoms

    by

    substituting

    the

    musi-

    cian

    Jubal

    for

    the

    traditional

    victim,

    Abel.

    Pl1adan's

    manipulation

    of the

    basic

    story

    from

    Genesis

    is

    even

    more

    extensive

    in

    another

    version

    of his

    play.

    Noah's

    descendant,

    Japheth's

    son

    Tubal

    (easily

    confused with

    Cain's descendant

    Tubal-Cain,

    ancestor of

    all

    metalwork-

    ers),

    is

    pitted against

    Hebel

    (Abel).

    The

    brothers' conflict is a result of their

    attentions to the

    same

    woman,

    Eurydi-

    ce.

    Eurydice

    is a follower

    of

    Orpheus,

    the

    hierophant

    who

    returns

    from his

    initiation

    in

    Crete

    to

    bring

    sacred truth

    to

    Thrace.

    Finally,

    Eurydice

    falls

    victim

    to

    a band of

    priestesses

    who

    betray

    Orpheus'

    Apolline

    teachings

    and

    rees-

    tablish human sacrifice

    and other for-

    bidden acts.

    As

    if in concession

    to the

    traditional

    myth,

    Pl1adan's

    Orpheus

    attempts

    to retrive

    Eurydice

    from

    death

    but

    is

    himself a

    victim

    of the Maenads.

    Papus,

    or Gerard

    Encausse,

    may

    be

    consideredthe most importantoccultist

    of

    the

    1880s and

    1890s. His

    writings

    are

    permeated

    with the

    same themes that

    dominate the

    works of Moreau

    and

    Eli-

    phas

    Levi,

    as well

    as

    the

    works

    of

    his

    fellow

    Lyon

    natives

    Ballanche,

    Chenav-

    ard,

    and

    P61adan.22

    is Vie de

    Christ,

    conceived as a

    response

    to the

    positivist

    studies of

    David Friedrich

    Strauss

    and

    Joseph-Ernest

    Renan,

    advocatesa

    syn-

    cretic view

    of

    religions.

    Christ

    is

    the

    culmination in a series of

    cycles

    of reve-

    lation.

    Orpheus,

    moreover,

    is

    important

    in a

    spiritual hierarchy

    that includes

    Zoroaster,

    Abraham, Moses, Lao-Tze,

    Buddha,

    Pythagoras,

    and

    many

    other

    initiates,

    all

    revealing

    a

    universal,

    alchemical

    truth.23

    Like the

    mythogra-

    phers

    and universal

    historians,

    Papus

    emphasizes

    the

    role

    of

    the

    East

    in

    this

    process

    of initiation.

    His

    succession of

    cycles

    of revelation

    and reincarnation

    is

    resolved

    ultimately

    with the

    reintegra-

    tion of the

    individual with the

    collective

    being,

    the oneness

    of

    Adam,

    the

    primor-

    dial

    Androgyne.24

    Moreover,

    Papus

    bases his historical process on what he

    calls a methodof

    analogies,

    by

    which

    parallels

    between

    the

    cycle

    of the

    single

    day

    and

    the

    seasonal

    cycle

    of

    the

    year

    are

    established.25

    Hence,

    dawn is

    the

    springtime

    of the

    day, midday

    is sum-

    mer,

    dusk

    is

    autumn,

    and

    night

    is win-

    ter.

    Furthermore,

    dawn is

    compared

    to

    the

    first

    quarter

    of

    the

    moon,

    day

    to the

    second

    quarter,

    evening

    to

    the third

    quarter,

    and

    night

    to

    the full moon.

    This

    integration

    of

    cycles

    of

    day,

    month,

    and

    year

    is

    comparable

    to the

    cyclical

    theo-

    ries

    of

    the

    universal histories

    and

    syn-

    cretic studies of world religions as well

    as

    to

    basic

    compositional

    and

    concep-

    tual

    elements

    of Moreau's

    Vie de

    l'humanite.

    oreau's

    painting,

    then,

    is

    conso-

    nant with

    a

    significant

    intellec-

    tual

    phenomenon

    in the

    nineteenth

    cen-

    tury involving

    a desire

    to

    create

    broad,

    all-encompassing

    systems

    of man's de-

    velopment-past,

    present,

    future.

    This

    impulse

    is manifested in the

    prolifera-

    tion

    of universal

    histories

    and

    synthetic

    world

    mythographies

    as well

    as

    the

    interest

    in

    mysticism.

    It is not

    surprising

    then

    that the

    multivalent

    figure

    of

    Orpheus-poet,

    musician,

    initiate,

    ma-

    gician,

    heroic intruder

    in

    Hades,

    lamenting

    lover,

    victim

    of

    Dionysian

    fury,

    but

    especially

    harbinger

    of civili-

    zation,

    archetypal

    artist,

    leader of

    cults,

    and

    priest-should

    play

    a crucial role

    in

    this

    syncretic

    intellectual

    environment.

    The

    syncretic

    attitude

    is

    evident

    in

    the

    mixture

    of

    pagan

    and

    Christian

    imagery

    that enriches

    not

    only

    Moreau's

    work but that of Puvis de Chavannes,

    Redon,

    and

    many

    others.

    Gauguin's

    interest

    in the

    devout

    peasantry

    of Brit-

    tany

    and

    especially

    his conflation

    of

    Tahitian

    myth

    and Christian

    subjects

    are other

    expressions

    of this

    syncreti-

    cism. The interest

    in

    Hinduism

    shared

    by

    Redon and

    Mallarm6

    reflects

    a

    pro-

    found

    curiosity

    in non-Western

    reli-

    gions.

    And a more

    general

    fascination

    with

    alternative

    religions,

    the

    occult,

    and

    theosophy

    can be

    found

    in

    the

    eccentric

    mysticism

    of the Nabis or Sar

    P6ladan's

    Rosicrucians.

    This all-encom-

    passing

    vision of

    man's

    history

    and

    development

    may

    be considereda domi-

    nant

    characteristic

    of the intellectual

    fabric of both Romanticism

    and

    Sym-

    bolism,

    an

    important

    theme

    in

    the

    works

    of artists from

    Delacroix to

    Rodin.

    Indeed,

    such

    epic

    works as

    Rodin's

    Gates

    of

    Hell

    (1880-1917), Gauguin's

    Who

    Are We? Where

    Do We Come

    From?

    Where

    Are We

    Going?

    (1897),

    or

    Munch's

    more

    psychologically

    oriented

    painting,

    The Dance

    of

    Death

    (1899-

    1900),

    reflect this

    utopian

    search

    for

    universal truths.

    Notes

    1

    The

    catalogue

    raisonnee,

    Pierre-Louis

    Ma-

    thieu,

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    Boston,

    1876,

    includes

    only

    thirteen finished works with the

    subject

    of

    Orpheus. Orpheus,

    however,

    is the

    subject

    of

    numerous

    drawings,

    watercolors, sketches,

    and

    paintings

    in the Musee Gustave

    Moreau,

    Paris.

    2

    L'intelligence

    et la

    poesie

    sont bien mieux

    personnifiees

    dans

    ces

    epoques

    tout

    entieres

    d'art et

    d'imagination

    (l'antiquit6

    pai'enne)

    que

    dans

    la

    bible,

    toute de sentiments et de

    religio-

    site. In

    L'Assembleur de

    roves:

    Ecrits com-

    plets

    de Gustave

    Moreau,

    ed.

    Pierre-Louis

    Mathieu, Fontfroide, 1984, p.

    104.

    3 Earlier

    scholarly

    literature

    on

    Moreau

    does not

    attempt

    to

    explain

    the

    curious

    juxtaposition

    of

    mythological

    legend

    and Christian

    story

    in the

    painting.

    Ary

    Renan,

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    Par-

    is, 1900,

    barely

    makes reference to the work.

    The

    Abbe

    Loisel,

    L'Inspiration

    chretienne

    du

    peintre

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    Paris, 1912,

    p.

    7,

    in

    his

    general

    insistence on the

    importance

    of

    Christian themes

    in Moreau's

    oeuvre,

    seems

    intentionally

    to

    ignore

    the unorthodox nclusion

    of

    Orpheus

    in the context of Genesis. Mathieu

    (cited

    n.

    1),

    p.

    167,

    who cites the Bible and

    Hesoid's

    Works and

    Days

    as

    sources

    for

    the

    Spring

    1987

    13

  • 8/10/2019 Gustave Moreau's La Vie de l'Humanit

    7/7

    work,

    acknowledges

    the

    syncretic

    order

    of

    the

    composition.

    Jean

    Paladilhe,

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    Paris, 1971,

    p.

    37,

    and Julius

    Kaplan,

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    exh.

    cat.,

    Los

    Angeles,

    Los

    Angeles County

    Museum of

    Art,

    1974,

    p.

    44,

    stress the intellectual coherence of the unifica-

    tion

    of

    sacred and

    profane

    themes.

    4

    Andre

    Boulanger, Orphee-Rapports

    de

    l'Orphisme

    et

    du

    Christianisme,

    Paris,

    1925,

    pp.

    157-163.

    5 This fresco was included

    in Antonio

    Bosio,

    Roma

    sotteranea, Rome, 1632, p. 239. It was

    frequently

    illustrated

    during

    the nineteenth

    century.

    It

    is

    number CLXXII

    bis,

    645a in

    A.L. Millin's reedition

    of the 1811 Galerie

    mythique,

    Nouvelle

    Galerie

    mythique,

    Paris,

    1859,

    which included a

    part

    of

    Guigniaut's

    translation

    of

    Creuzer's

    Symbolik

    and a com-

    mentary

    on

    the

    relationship

    between art and

    religion by

    Alfred

    Maury;

    Fig.

    230 in Ren6

    M6nard,

    La

    Mythologie

    dans l'art

    ancien

    et

    moderne,

    Paris,

    1878;

    and

    Fig.

    35 in

    Andr6

    P6rat6,

    L'Archbologie

    chr~tienne,

    Paris, 1892,

    p.

    66.

    6

    Cristo,

    il non favoloso

    Orfeo,

    veramente

    richiam6

    l'uomo

    dalla vita animalesca

    ad

    una

    vita ragionevolee gl' insegn6la via della virtiu

    della

    felicitY.

    See: P.R.

    Garucci,

    Storia

    dell'arte

    cristiana,

    Prato,

    1873,

    vol.

    ii,

    p.

    29,

    tav.

    25.

    7 See

    George

    L.

    Hersey,

    Delacroix's

    Imagery

    in

    the Palais Bourbon

    Library,

    Journal

    of

    the

    Warburg

    and

    Courtauld

    Institutes,

    31

    (1968)

    pp.

    383-403.

    Michelet translated

    La Scienza

    nuova in

    1827.

    8 Ballanche's theories are elaborated in

    baffling

    and confused form

    throughout

    his works:

    Essais de

    palingMnksie

    ocial;

    Essais sur les

    institutions

    sociales;

    La

    Vision

    d'Hibal,

    chef

    d'un clan

    &cossais;

    and

    Paling?n4sie

    social

    ou

    Thbodiche de l'Histoire. This last work,

    intended as

    the author's

    magnum opus,

    was to

    have several

    parts:

    Orph6e,

    Formule

    g6n6rale, La

    Ville

    des

    expiations,

    and

    616gie.

    Only Orph6e

    was

    completed.

    See:

    Pierre Simon

    Ballanche,

    Oeuvres

    compl&tes,

    Paris,

    1830.

    9

    See:

    Albert

    Joseph

    George,

    Pierre

    Simon

    Bal-

    lanche,

    Precursor

    of

    Romanticism,

    Syracuse,

    1945,

    pp.

    96-97;

    Brian

    Juden,

    Particularit6s

    du

    mythe

    d'Orph6e

    chez

    Ballanche,

    CAIEF,

    congr~s,

    24

    juillet

    1969,

    pp.

    137-52;

    Joseph

    C.

    Sloane,

    French

    Painting

    between

    the Past and

    the

    Present, Artists, Critics,

    and Traditions

    from

    1848 to

    1870,

    Princeton, 1951; idem,

    PaulChenavard, Art Bulletin, 33

    (1951) pp.

    240-58; idem,

    Paul Marc

    Joseph

    Chenavard,

    Artist

    of

    1848,

    Chapel

    Hill,

    1962.

    10 For a

    discussion of Ballanche's

    Christianity,

    see:

    Victor de

    Laprade,

    Ballanche,

    sa vie et

    ses

    6crits, M6moire,

    Lyon,

    Academie

    des

    Sciences,

    Belles-Lettres et

    Arts,

    Classe des

    Lettres, 1850,

    tome

    2,

    pp.

    176-8.

    11 See:

    Ballanche,

    Oeuvres

    Completes

    (cited

    n.

    8),

    Vol.

    3,

    pp.

    90, 135, 136,

    142

    especially.

    12

    Ibid.,

    p.

    82. Ballanche

    speaks

    of la

    po6sie

    de

    la

    pens6e.

    13

    Ibid.,

    Vol.

    4,

    p.

    6. Ballanche

    claims that

    la

    religion

    est

    l'histoire

    all6gorique

    de la

    nature.

    He also states: La

    mythologie

    est

    une

    histoire

    condens6e.

    14 See:

    Sloane,

    Chenavard,

    pp.

    246-50,

    and

    Chenavard,

    especially pp.

    44-60

    (both

    cited

    n.9).

    Chenavard'scommission

    was

    a

    product

    of

    the liberal

    government

    installed in

    1848.

    By

    1852,

    under

    the

    encouragement

    of

    the

    conser-

    vative

    government

    of

    Napoleon

    III,

    the Pan-

    theon was

    returned

    to

    the Church.

    Of

    course,

    Chenavard's

    pantheistic,

    anticlerical

    program

    was canceled. Neither the conservativesnorthe

    liberals viewed the

    paintings merely

    as a deco-

    rative

    scheme;

    both

    factions

    perceived

    the

    political

    and

    philosophical

    implications

    of

    the

    plan.

    Indeed,

    Chenavard

    and

    some of the

    most

    important

    members of

    his

    circle

    were

    actively

    involved

    n

    liberal

    politics.

    15

    Concerning

    his

    concept

    of hommes

    spon-

    tan6s,

    see:

    Ballanche,

    Prolegomenes

    pour

    Orphie,

    in

    Oeuvres

    Complktes

    (cited

    n.

    8),

    Vol.

    4,

    p.

    6.

    16 See:

    Sloane,

    Chenavard

    (cited

    n.

    9),

    chapter

    iv,

    Theory

    of

    History,

    pp.

    70-71,

    81-83.

    See

    also: Herbert

    J.

    Hunt,

    The

    Epic

    in

    Nineteenth-

    CenturyFrance, Oxford, 1941.

    17

    Eliphas

    L6vi's works

    include:

    Bible de la

    liberth,

    Paris, 1841;

    Doctrines

    religieuses

    et

    sociales,

    Paris, 1841;

    La

    Mare de

    dieu,

    Paris,

    1844;

    Des

    origines cabalistiques

    du

    christian-

    isme,

    De la kabbale

    considbrbe

    comme

    source

    de tous les

    dogmes,

    Paris, 1855;

    Dogme

    et

    rituel

    de

    la

    haute

    magie,

    Paris,

    1856;

    Histoire

    de la

    magie,

    Paris, 1860;

    La

    Clef

    des

    grands

    mysteres,

    Paris, 1861;

    Fables

    et

    symboles

    en

    philosophie

    occulte,

    Paris, 1862;

    La Science

    des

    esprits,

    Paris,

    1865;

    Le

    Livre

    des

    splen-

    deurs,

    Paris,

    1868.

    Concerning

    L6vi,

    see: Frank

    Paul

    Bowman,

    Eliphas

    Lbvi:

    Visionnaire

    Romantique,

    Paris,

    1969;

    Christopher

    McIn-

    tosh,

    Eliphas

    Lavi

    and the French Occult Re-

    vival,

    New

    York,

    1974;

    Alain

    Mercier,

    Eliphas

    Lavi

    et la

    pensbe

    magique

    au

    XIXbme

    siecle,

    Paris, 1974;

    Thomas A.

    Williams,

    Eliphas

    Lavi:

    Master

    of

    Occultism,

    University,

    Alaba-

    ma,

    1975.

    18

    L6vi,

    Fables

    et

    symboles

    (cited

    n.

    17),

    Six-

    ieme

    Grand

    Symbole,

    Le

    Temple

    de

    l'avenir,

    p.

    467.

    19

    L6vi,

    La

    Clef

    (cited

    n.

    17),

    p.

    33.

    20

    PNladan's

    works include: La

    D&cadence atine,

    1884-1906,

    21

    volumes;

    L'Amphithbatre

    des

    sciences

    mortes, 1891-1911,

    7

    volumes;

    Les

    Idies et les

    formes,

    1900-01;

    La Dicadence

    isthetique,

    1888-1910,

    c. seventeen

    volumes.

    Concerning

    PNladan,

    see: Robert Pincus-Wit-

    ten,

    Occult

    Symbolism

    in France:

    Josiphin

    Pbladan

    and

    the Salon Rose

    +

    Croix,

    New

    York,

    1976.

    21

    Josbphin

    P6ladan,

    Projets

    de

    pieces

    de

    th6atre,

    Manuscript

    13.204,

    Fonds

    P6ladan,

    Bibliothbque

    de

    l'Arsenal, Paris,

    These manu-

    scripts

    include five versions of the

    play

    Terre

    d'Orphbe,

    each

    differing

    somewhat in struc-

    ture.

    22

    Lyon

    had been

    a center of occult and

    spiritist

    learning

    since the Medieval and

    Renaissance

    periods.

    In this

    regard,

    see: Paul

    Leutrat,

    La

    Sorcellerie

    Lyonnaise,

    Paris,

    1977.

    Concerning

    Papus

    in

    particular

    and occultism in

    general,

    see: Filiz Eda

    Burhan,

    Vision and

    Visionaries:

    Nineteenth-Century Psychological Theory,

    the

    Occult

    Sciences,

    and the Formation of

    the

    Symbolist

    Aesthetic

    in France

    (Ph.D.

    diss.,

    Princeton

    University,

    1979);

    Alain

    Mercier,

    Les Sources

    esoteriques

    et occultes

    de la

    poesie

    symboliste,

    1870-1914, Paris,

    1969;

    Jean

    Pier-

    rot, L'lImaginairedicadent, Paris, 1977.

    23

    Papus,

    La Vie de

    Christ,

    Manuscript

    5491.1.26,

    Fonds

    Papus, Biblioth~que

    Munici-

    pale, Lyon,

    p.

    23. See also:

    Alchimie,

    Manu-

    script

    5491.

    I.

    7,

    and Alchimie

    au

    XIXe

    siecle,

    Manuscript

    5491,

    I.

    2.

    24

    Papus,

    Occultisme

    contemporaine,

    Manu-

    script

    5491.1.17,

    Fonds

    Papus,

    Bibliothbque

    Munipale,

    Lyon, p.

    25: Pouratt6neur 'acte

    de

    sa

    cr6ature,

    le

    Cr6ateur,

    utilisant le

    Temps

    et

    I'Espace qui

    6taient corollaires

    du

    plan phy-

    sique,

    cr6a la Diff6rentiationde l'Etre

    coll6ctif:

    chaque

    cellule

    d'Adam devint

    un etre

    humain

    individuel

    et ainsi devint le

    Principe

    de la

    vie

    universelle et

    da la forme

    plastique:

    Eve.

    L'Homme

    dfit,

    des

    lors,

    6purer

    les

    principes

    inf6rieurs

    qu'il

    avait

    ajout6

    A

    sa

    nature,

    par

    la

    souffrance,

    le

    r6signation

    aux

    epreuves

    et

    l'abandon de sa

    volont6

    entre les mains de son

    Cr6ateur. Les r6incarnations urent le

    principal

    instrument de salut

    et,

    comme tous les hommes

    sont les cellules d'un meme

    Etre,

    le salut

    indivi-

    duel ne sera total

    que

    lorsque

    le

    salut collectif

    sera

    accompli.

    25

    Papus,

    L'Analogie,

    Manuscript

    5491.1.3,

    Fonds

    Papus,

    Bibliotheque

    Municipale,

    Lyon.

    Dorothy

    M.

    Kosinski

    received her

    Ph.D.

    from

    the Institute

    of

    Fine Arts

    in

    1985. Her most recentpublication is

    Orpheus-das

    Bild

    des

    Kiinstlers

    bei

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    in the

    catalogue,

    Gustave

    Moreau,

    Kunsthaus,

    Zurich,

    1986. She

    is

    currently

    Curator

    of

    The

    Douglas Cooper

    Collection.

    14

    Art

    Journal