Joséphin Péladan

Joséphin Péladan (1858-1918) was a flamboyant personality and controversial media celebrity as well as the author of combative art criticism and a series of novels with occult themes. Péladan also wrote influential non-fiction wors on occult topics committed to the belief that the best way for modern Europeans to enter into communion with the guiding intelligences of humanity was through magic and the arts. He played a key role in reviving Rosicrucianism and provided a spiritual and intellectual backdrop to fin-de-siècle French symbolism. His ideas influenced the leading artists of the day, including composers Claude Debussy and Erik Satie and writer Antonin Artaud.