Carlos Schwabe Swiss, 1866-1926
Further images
The Fate exemplifies Schwabe’s Symbolist vision through its allegorical intensity and formal restraint. The composition personifies fate as a female figure engaged in the act of weaving—an ancient and potent metaphor for destiny rooted in classical and medieval tradition. Through controlled line, muted tonality, and a deliberate rejection of naturalistic detail, Schwabe presents fate as both creator and arbiter: patient, inexorable, and indifferent to human will. The rhythmic motion of weaving underscores the inevitability of the human condition, transforming the scene into a meditation on time, vulnerability, and spiritual necessity.
Literature
Art et Décoration, first half of 1905, reproduced p. 69 Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond, Carlos Schwabe: Symbolist and Visionary, ACR Édition, 1994, reproduced p. 117 (dated c. 1900)Exhibitions
New Art in Switzerland at the Beginning of Our Century, Kunsthaus Zürich, August 19–September 24, 1967, cat. no. 224 (Parze)
The Sacred and the Profane in the Art of the Symbolists, Civic Gallery of Modern Art, Turin, June–August 1969, cat. no. 196 (reproduced p. 174)
The Sacred and the Profane in Symbolist Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, November 1–26, 1969, cat. no. 178
Provenance
Collection of Gabriel Séailles (1852–1923)Collection of Octavie Séailles (1855–1944)
By descent to Andrée Séailles (1891–1983)
Acquired from Andrée Séailles by Gérard Lévy, 1964
Gérard Lévy Collection; subsequently to a Private Illinois Collection.