ОСОБЛИВОСТІ СИМВОЛІВ ТА ЇХ ІНТЕРПРЕТАЦІЯ В ПОЛЬСЬКІЙ СЕЦЕСІЇ

Modern art is fi lled with various symbols, which conveyed a mysterious meaning, and had a great variety of manifestations. Many ideas that appeared in the era of modernism were refl ected in art. The system of special tools and techniques was used by artists in the depiction of various subjects of paintings. Each spectator could see the refl ection of his outlook and his attitude in one creative work. Artwork becomes multifunctional at that time. Analysis of artistic works allows you to see the variety of symbols and how they affect the mind of the viewer. The purpose of this publication is to analyze main modernist symbols; to determine how symbols appear on canvases of the Polish secession masters and what semantic meaning they carry to the viewer, to reveal their infl uence on compositional schemes and image features. Symbolism is a phenomenon that extends beyond the limits of artistic reality. In modernism and symbolism, “various spheres of manifestation ... symbolism is manifested more clearly in the art associated with the word ... style of modernism” [3, c. 68]. Symbolism is a new, different way to see and perceive the world. In its own way, this is, of course, the answer to new reality of progress that is too material and specifi c. Symbolism perceives reality as the surface of the most realistic things. All events, phenomena, images are only external part of deep things and events. The world is fi lled with various symbols, and it looks like a mysterious box, inside which there is one more box, then another one. It is impos-sible to determine how many of these boxes are there and which of them will be the last (that is, the true meaning). Thus, symbolism questioned the fact that things are the ones that they are seen. On the contrary, in order to understand the essence of things, they had to be looked at by the inner sight, to see an additional meaning in them. Thus, against the background of general knowledge of everything and of all that progressed, the Symbolists, once again burdened the reality by additional content that created the secret. This perception of the world was infi nitely deep and full of subtext (moreover, not religious symbols, as it was possible to say about the art of the Middle Ages), which gave another contrast to the “popularization” of art and raised the artist again (in the broadest sense of the word) on the Olympus of inaccessibility. In addition, symbolism introduces the concept of ambiguity in the broad sense, the ambiguity of not only phenomena, but also characters. From now the whole world receives the “second, third, fourth, fi fth bottom”. Symbolism, as a world outlook, becomes a hallmark of a new reality and one more beginning for the future of the twen-tieth century, in which everything will be ambiguous. Actually, the worldview of symbolism has become incredibly widespread, despite the fact that to some extent it was an attempt to create a new culture for all segments of population. The thinking of symbolism meant infi nite distrust of reality and boundless careful consideration and interpretation that in everyday plan gave a certain surge of mysticism on the verge of centuries. Nature and a large number of plants were combined into new fan-tastic creatures: fl owers and birds, waves and horse, fi sh and man. Artists turn to symbols through which the idea, the meaning that is laid down when creating a painting is conveyed to the viewer. Pans with horns, swan women, centaurs, sphinxes, huge butterfl ies, dragonfl ies, pythons, snakes, lilies, poppies, roses, sunfl owers, sea waves emphasize constant movement, self-renovation in paintings of a new style [2, c. 181]. But artists depict not just the animal entirely, as animists do, but only part of it (for example, a butterfl y) or a bird (only a form and plumage), or just a horse’s torso. In addition, the animal is depicted not in natural environment, but it becomes only a background or it can only convey a certain element or a sign. Let’s consider in detail what kind of meaning each modern symbol has. The description is provided not in alphabetical order, but by the frequency of usage. Flowers: Poppy.It has double symbols, it is the symbol of sleep and memory, and both interpretations can mean death. Since poppy comes from narcotic substances, in ancient Greece this fl ower was sacred to Morpheus, the god of sleep and dreams. Iris.Iris and lily have a lot in common in their symbolics (Iris is a rival-competitor like a fl ower fl eur-de-lis), both of these fl ow-ers embody light and hope. Iris is associated with the grief of the Virgin Mary because of its sharp leaves. Lily.Lily is a symbol of purity, perfection, mercy and majesty in most cultures. Once lily brought the meaning of light and (as a consequence of phallic form of the fl ower core) of the male be-ginning. In Greco-Roman mythology, the lily was sacred fl ower of Hera (Juno). Sunfl ower.As we see from the name, symbolism of the fl ower is associated with the sun: golden colour and the petal-rays, as well as the characteristic feature of turning infl orescences to the sun and it can be said that sunfl ower is a solar fl ower. Харків 2018 2 розділ Mallow.Mallow leaves are more important than fl owers and they are identifi ed in many cultures (in Christianity) with the thirst for forgiveness. In China this fl ower is associated with peace, calm and humility. Rose.Rose is one of the most symbolic fl owers. This beautiful, fragrant fl ower protected by spines, carries beauty, mystery, love, life, blood, death and rebirth. Birds: Peacock.The beauty and magnifi cence of incredible peacock feathers have become the cause of various associations. Eagle.The majestic eagle fl ying high in the sky is a universal symbol and embodies the all-seeing sky god, courage, victory, strength, height, thunder and storm. Insects: Butterfl y.The butterfl y has three stages in its development: egg, caterpillar and chrysalis. Primarily, butterfl y is a symbol of soul, transformation of life from supposed death. Dragonfl y. The Chinese consider the dragonfl y to be a personifi ca-tion of summer, unbalance (due to unpredictability of the fl ight) and weakness. Dragonfl y is the national emblem of Japan. Reptiles and sea creatures: Snake.Snake is an international symbol with the most complex and contradictory connotations. Dolphin.The dolphin is associated with salvation, swiftness and love. It is very popular symbol. Octopus.This sea shellfi sh is the most widespread symbol of the Mediterranean, where it is widely used as a decorative motif in Mycenaean art. Animals: Horse.The horse was considered as a noble animal. It embodies courage, grace, swiftness, as well as (in the western tradition) male sexual power. An analysis of works by Polish masters such as E. Okuna “War and We” 1923; “Citrus Garden” 1923; K. Stavrovsky’s “The History of the Waves” 1910, “Peacock on the background of the stained glass” 1908; Yu. Mehofer “Amazing Garden” 1902–1903 shows how the world of symbols was revealed in the Polish art of modern times. Conclusions: 1. Main modernist symbols are analyzed in this publication; 2. Symbols appeared on canvases of the Polish secession masters with their semantic meaning. They had their unique originality and carried codifi ed representation of Poland; 3. Symbols conveyed the spirit, experience and patriotism of Polish people to the spectator. They supported national consciousness. Every symbol used by the Polish artist, performed a certain func-tion on the canvas, conveyed a certain context to the viewer and formed a new worldview of the European culture; 4. With the help of symbols, artists of Polish secession broke from classical compositional schemes and created their own interpreta-tion of the world around them