Fin de Siecle

Fin de Siecle

Fin de Siècle means ‘end of the century.’ In art history, it typically refers to art from the late 19th century.

Fin de Siècle is a term that encompasses symbolism, decadence, and related artistic movements, including art nouveau, which flourished in the 1890s. While it is often used interchangeably with other phrases like the Eighteen-Nineties, the Mauve Decade, the Yellow Decade, and the Naughty Nineties, it carries a sense of impending change and the conclusion of a particular era. The true end of this period didn't occur in 1900 but was marked by the outbreak of World War I in 1914.


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Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.