This is one of a small-format series in which each title examines one facet of art, archaeology, music, history, philosophy, popular culture, science or nature. Exploring the life and work of the French artist Gustave Moreau, this is an account of one of the painters who paved the way for modern art. The teacher of Matisse and Rouault, he created in his work a world of glittering illusion and mystery. His complex, decorative style united a passion for mythology and mysticism with exquisite craftsmanship, and inspired a generation of Symbolist painters and writers, including Proust, Mallarme and the England Pre-Raphaelites.