Odilion Redon

    An early Modernist, French Symbolist painter, lithographer, and etcher Odilon Redon (b. Bertrand-Jean Redon, 1840 –1916) explored imagination rather than perception in his art. Initially working almost exclusively in charcoal and lithography, his early works explore a darkly fantastic world of black and white amorphous creatures, and insects and plants with human heads, but in the latter years of his life Redon embraced pastels and oils, producing radiant, richly colored still lifes of flowers and vivid tableaux with religious and mythological themes.

    Though he disassociated himself from the established artistic movements of his day, Redon laid the groundwork for the Surrealist and Dada movements. Redon’s early work, darkly mysterious noir prints executed in shades of black, transformed the natural world into dark visions and strange fantasies, but Redon’s art took a dramatic shift when the artist was in his fifties, and he began producing luminous pastels and richly textured canvases that established his reputation as a noted colorist. From nightmares to daydreams, explore Odilon Redon’s imaginative art.