Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916)
Redon was a Symbolist painter and printmaker whose work served as an exploration of the thoughts and emotions within himself. His artwork appears to be full of odd creatures and bizarre contradictions. With the intention to depict the ghosts in his mind, Redon sought to “place the visible at the service of the invisible.”
Redon began his training with Stanislas Gorin as a teenager. He was inspired by the work of Charles Baudelaire, Gustave Flaubert, and Edgar Allan Poe. He produced only black-and-white artwork until the 1890s. Then, because of his relationships with Paul Gauguin and Maurice Denis, Redon began to employ vibrant colors. The Art Institute of Chicago; the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the National Gallery, London all have collections of his works today.
