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Odilon Redon

Born – Bordeaux, France 1840

Died – Paris, France 1916

Odilon Redon experienced an unhappy childhood after an early illness led to his being brought up by his uncle. His attempt to train as an architect was thwarted and his artistic development was slow, largely the result of time spent in the studio of Bresdin, a printmaker based in Bordeaux. From the 1870s until the 1890s Redon worked almost exclusively in black and white. His early efforts consisted of charcoal drawings and etchings that looked to the landscape for inspiration to express his intense and mournful vision. He developed a distinctive, spiritual and symbolic art drawing upon a broad range of sources, including the unconscious, philosophy, literature and Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution. After the publication of the Symbolist Manifesto in 1886 he became, with the writer Mallarmé, one of the leading Symbolists. During the 1890s Redon began to explore new media such as oils and pastels and introduced colour to his work. By the turn of the century the work of this hitherto little known artist, in particular his decorative, colourful flower-pieces, was much in demand. The Red Sphinx is a bizarre hybrid, typical of his poetic style that proved especially influential to the Surrealists.

Masterpieces:

• Sita
• Flower Clouds

Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.

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