Phantoms and Figments

Abstract

This paper explores the parallels that can be observed between the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) and the English artist Austin Osman Spare (1886–1956). Although having quite different artistic backgrounds, they both arrived at complex spiritual theories and artistic production techniques associated with personality fragmentation and the emotional or intellectual exploration of alternative selves. While Pessoa and Spare are often regarded as exceptional artists and spiritual thinkers within their own environments, these similarities suggest a common familiarity with overarching themes and ideas expanding beyond their own restricted circles. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to question the exact nature of said esoteric and artistic exceptionality in light of the intellectual and artistic groups and movements surrounding them and propose a framework for the study of the overlap of occult and artistic circles in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth-centuries.