Jean Delville (Belgium, 1867-1953) Artemis and Apollo Mixed technique (charcoal, gouache and pastel) depicting an ancient divinity wearing a triumphal crown. At upper right, a papery mass evokes the feathery plumage of arrows and paintbrushes. Signed and dated 1930. Biographical note: A student of Jean-François Portaels, Jean Delville was one of the most famous icons of symbolism in Belgium, along with Fernand Khnopff and Léon Spilliaert. A freemason, Rosicrucian, and theosophist, and close friend of Sâr Péladan and Stuart Merril, esoterism was at the heart of his artistic inspiration. In 1892, he founded the "Pour l'Art" circle after participating in the Salon de la Rose + Croix while a member of the group of XX. Iconographic note: This work is a androgynous, duplicate version of the iconograph of Artemis (uncapturable beauty in motion), the hunting goddess, and her twin brother Apollo (with the triumphant laurel wreath in tribute to Daphne), the gods of beauty and art. Like Plato, the theosophists saw androgyny as beauty free of eroticism, leading towards the spiritual. - 37.5 x 26.5 cm sight size- Benezit-