Gustave Moreau

Gustave Moreau (April 6, 1826 - April 18, 1898) was a French Symbolist painter. He was born and died in Paris.

The main focus of his work lies in the illustration of Christian and mythological figures. As a painter of the literary idea rather than the visual image, his pictures appealed to the imagination of certain Symbolist writers and artists, who saw him as the pre-cursor to their movement.

Moreau was made professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris in 1891, and counted among his many students the great Fauvist painters Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault

He is buried in Paris at the Cimetière de Montmartre.

The "Musée Gustave Moreau" at 14, rue de la Rochefoucauld, in Paris is one of the most extravagant in the city.