Figures like Salomé , the Sphinx, and the Medusa became central motifs, representing both a fascination with and a fear of shifting gender relations at the turn of the century. Key Figures Explored
Gustave Moreau, known for his jewel-like, dreamlike depictions of mythological figures. Decadent Subjects: The Idea of Decadence in Art...
Bernheimer rereads several major thinkers and artists to rediscover the "dynamics of the decadent": Figures like Salomé , the Sphinx, and the
Artists and their audiences often felt estranged from society, mocking traditional moral rules and embracing sensualism and morbidity to scandalize the "bourgeois" middle class. Figures like Salomé
Friedrich Nietzsche , Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, and Stéphane Mallarmé.