Gustave Moreau

Hesiod and the Muse (1891) Musee d'Orsay

I picked up a small book at the library on Gustave Moreau and realized that his paintings are gorgeous. I'd always thought they were too complicated and impressionistic, but I was confusing him with Redon. The paintings are exquisitely detailed. He worked extremely hard on his art, making many preliminary drawings and sketches. As a young man, he went to Italy and copied many famous artworks there. People wanted to buy them, but he kept them as reference materials.