Symbolism often carries an unnecessary weight. It sounds academic, distant, or reserved for those who have studied art, literature, or philosophy. But symbolism isn’t something we learn, it’s something we already know. Long before we can explain it, we feel it.
We encounter symbolism in dreams we struggle to describe, in images that unsettle us without explanation, and in moments that linger emotionally long after they’ve passed.
What is Symbolism?
Symbolism is the use of images or objects to express deeper emotional or psychological meaning beyond their literal appearance.
A wilting flower can stand for loss. A rising sun can stand for hope. A closed door can stand for a secret, a missed chance, or a part of ourselves we keep hidden. The object is real, but its meaning lives somewhere else.
A Short Timeline of Symbolism in Art and Literature
Symbolism has evolved over centuries, appearing in both art and literature as a way to express ideas beyond literal meaning. From early allegorical works to modern surrealist paintings, artists and writers have used symbols to explore emotion, spirituality, and the subconscious.
Key moments in the history of symbolism:
Late 18th – early 19th century: Romanticism introduces emotional and symbolic elements in poetry and painting.
1850s – 1870s: Forerunners pave the way. Charles Baudelaire’s poetry collection Les Fleurs du mal (1857) and the mythological paintings of Gustave Moreau turn away from realism towards dreams, myth, and inner life.
1880s: Odilon Redon creates his haunting charcoal “noirs,” and in 1886 the poet Jean Moréas publishes the Symbolist manifesto, giving the movement its name.
1890s: Belgian artist Jean Delville pioneers mystical and philosophical symbolism in visual art.
Early 20th century: Surrealism builds on symbolism, connecting dream imagery with the subconscious, in the work of artists like Salvador Dalí and René Magritte.
Modern & contemporary art: Symbolism continues in film, graphic novels, and contemporary painting, showing that symbolic language adapts across mediums and cultures.
For a closer look at the painters who shaped the movement, see Symbolists You Should Know and Why.
Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night is a great example of symbolism in art, showing how colours, shapes, and motion convey emotion beyond literal depiction. The swirling night sky can reflect turbulence, wonder, or longing, while the glowing stars symbolise hope or the eternal. The painting demonstrates how symbolic meaning can carry emotional truth, even when the subject seems simple at first glance.
When it comes to symbolism as a movement, many consider the Belgian artist Jean Delville the godfather of modern symbolism. His work combines mystical imagery, myth, and philosophy to explore the deeper layers of human experience. Delville’s paintings are perfect examples for anyone new to symbolism, as they show how artists use visual elements to express spiritual and psychological truths that go beyond literal representation.
How to Read Symbolism (Practical Tips)
If you’re new to symbolism, begin simply:
Notice what feels unsettling or emotionally charged
Pay attention to what repeats
Observe what feels out of place or illogical
You don’t need to rush toward interpretation. Sit with the image. Let it work on you. Symbolism reveals itself gradually, often long after you’ve looked away.
Learning how to read symbolism is easier than you think. You can even spot examples of symbolism in everyday life, like a wilting flower for loss or a rising sun for hope
Common Symbols and What They Mean
Once you start looking, you’ll notice the same symbols appearing again and again across centuries of art. Here are a few of the most common, and what they have traditionally meant.
The Skull and the Hourglass: Often found in 17th-century Dutch still lifes known as vanitas paintings, these are reminders that life is short and time is running out. Together they say memento mori, remember that you will die.
The Moth: Drawn helplessly towards the flame, the moth has come to represent the soul’s longing for light, as well as fragility and the risk of being consumed by what we desire.
The White Rose: The white rose traditionally symbolises purity and innocence, and in religious art it is closely linked to the Virgin Mary.
The Ouroboros: A serpent swallowing its own tail, the ouroboros represents eternity, the endless cycle of death and rebirth, and the idea that every ending is also a beginning.
The Veil: A veil hides as much as it reveals. In art it often stands for mystery, secret knowledge, or the thin boundary between the visible world and what lies beyond it.
The Labyrinth: From the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur onwards, the labyrinth has symbolised the inner journey, a winding path we must follow to face what waits at the centre of ourselves.
Remember, these meanings are a starting point rather than a rulebook. A symbol can shift depending on the artist, the era, and the person looking at it. For a much fuller list, explore Symbols in Art: The Complete Guide to Reading Hidden Meaning in Paintings.
Symbolism in Psychology and Dreams
Have you ever noticed symbols appearing repeatedly in your dreams or daily life? It’s nature’s way of reminding us that we are all linked by a visual language.
Psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung explored how symbols reveal hidden emotions, desires, and fears that we might not consciously recognise. Take a single image, like a snake, a falling house, or a wilting flower, and you can find layers of meaning beyond what the waking mind immediately understands.
Freud believed dreams were a window into the unconscious, with symbols representing repressed wishes or unresolved conflicts. Jung, on the other hand, emphasised archetypes, universal symbols like the Hero, the Shadow, or the Wise Old Man, which appear across cultures and connect us to shared human experience. These archetypes appear not only in dreams but also in art, as explored in this post on Jungian Symbolism, and in how Carl Jung’s ideas shaped art.
Understanding symbolism in dreams can sharpen your ability to read symbolism in art. The Surrealists knew this well, painting scenes where logic and reality collapse, just as they do when we sleep.
Practical tip: Keep a dream journal. Note objects, colours, or feelings that stand out. Over time, you’ll start to recognise personal symbols, your own visual language, and this awareness will make reading symbols in art feel intuitive rather than forced.
Symbolism Begins With Feeling
To understand symbolism, you don’t need dates, movements, or terminology. You need attention. The first step is always emotional, not intellectual. When an image feels uncomfortable, familiar, or strangely out of place, that reaction matters, often in ways a rational explanation can’t capture.
Some people approach symbolism through psychology, others through art history, myth, or visual analysis. If you’d like to go further, I’ve put together a curated list of the 5 Best Books for Artists Who Love Symbolism.
Some approach symbolism through psychology, others through art history, myth, or visual analysis. I’ve put together a curated list of 5 Best Books for Artists Who Love Symbolism
Test your Symbolism
Before reading the meanings below, take a moment to study one of the most iconic paintings ever created, Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory (1931). What do the melting clocks make you feel? What might the ants represent? What is that strange pale creature in the middle?
Melting Clocks
Fluidity of time, impermanence
Ants on Watch
Decay, mortality
Pale Creature
Subconscious mind, dissolution of identity
To see if you’re starting to think like a symbolist, read The Persistence of Memory: Surrealism, Time & Dreams.
There Are No Correct Answers
One of the biggest misunderstandings about symbolism is the belief that it has a single, hidden meaning waiting to be uncovered. In reality, symbolism resists certainty. It shifts depending on context, memory, and personal experience. Two people can look at the same image and feel entirely different things, and both responses can be valid.
If the melting clocks made you think of something else entirely, such as ageing, stress, or a lazy summer afternoon, that reading is part of the painting’s meaning too. Dalí’s work blends reality and dream to communicate ideas that words alone cannot express, and every viewer brings their own dreams to it.
Why Artists Use Symbolism
Artists turn to symbolism when literal language fails. Some experiences cannot be neatly explained: time dissolving during grief, identity blurring during change, fear surfacing in dreams. Symbolism allows artists to express these inner states visually, using metaphor rather than instruction.
In surrealist art especially, symbols become a bridge between the conscious and unconscious. Objects lose their fixed roles. Time bends. Familiar forms become unfamiliar. The goal isn’t clarity, it’s resonance.
A Symbolic Conversation With Art
Reading symbolism isn’t about dissecting images or arriving at final conclusions. It’s about slowing down, noticing what lingers, and allowing art to reflect something back at you. It’s also a great talking point when visiting a gallery with a friend. You can discuss what each symbol means to you, and why it was the first or second thing you noticed.
If an image stays with you, if it quietly returns when you’re not looking, it’s already speaking. Meaning follows feeling, not the other way around.
When you’re ready to go deeper, Symbols in Art: The Complete Guide to Reading Hidden Meaning in Paintings walks through the most common symbols and how to recognise them.
Symbolism resources:
To understand symbolism from an educational perspective, how objects and imagery represent ideas beyond their literal meaning. Check out this resource from National Geographic’s educational section on symbolism
