Dreamers of Decadence by Philippe Jullian

He explored the themes of homoeroticism, sado-masochism, transvestism and the aesthetic life. Works of fiction by Jullian dealt with the decadent, sensual, and macabre. A collector, he published his autobiography, La Brocante, which detailed the 'love of small objects,' in 1975.

Among others, he admired French painter Antonio de La Gandara. These include the biography Robert de Montesquiou (1965), Prince of Aesthetes (1967), Esthétes et Magiciens (1969) translated as Dreamers of Decadence (1971), Les Symbolistes (1973), and The Triumph of Art Nouveau (1974). His books and articles on Art Nouveau, Symbolism, and other art movements of the fin-de-siècle helped bring about a revival of interest in the period. He produced illustrations for his own books as well as works by Honoré de Balzac, Colette, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ronald Firbank, Marcel Proust, and Oscar Wilde, among others. Jullian's book illustrations are witty, ornate, and often grotesque. One of his first officially noted works was the first 'artist's' label for the famous wine from Château Mouton Rothschild in 1945, in memory of the World War II victory over Germany. He also travelled extensively in India and Egypt.

In his later years, he resided in England but regularly spent winters in Africa.

Jullian studied literature at university but left to pursue drawing and painting. His maternal grandfather was the historian Camille Jullian, known for his multi-volume history of Gaul his mother had married a man named Simounet, a war veteran whose life ended in poverty and whose name Philippe rejected in favor of his more distinguished grandfather's.

Dreamers of Decadence by Philippe Jullian