History of Art. Ten Dreams Fine Art Galleries. Your Source of Visual Intoxication. Symbolism (arts) Distinct from, but related to, the style of literature, symbolism of art is related to the gothic component of Romanticism.
The term "symbolism" is derived from the word "symbol" which derives from the Latin symbolum, a symbol of faith, and symbolus, a sign of recognition, in turn from classical Greek συμβόλον symbolon, an object cut in half constituting a sign of recognition when the carriers were able to reassemble the two halves. In ancient Greece, the symbolon, was a shard of pottery which was inscribed and then broken into two pieces which were given to the ambassadors from two allied city states as a record of the alliance.