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Odilon Redon
Odilon Redon’s oeuvre marks the threshold between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, and thus also represents the interplay between tradition and innovation. Fractures and contrasts characterize his artistic development, from the black-and-white of his early, dark lithographs and works in charcoal to the veritable explosions of color in his bright pastels and oils. Bizarre monsters appear alongside heavenly creatures in a blend of dream and nightmare, nature and vision. Tending toward internalization, the mythic, sacred and biological motifs in Redon’s works underwent a turn toward the mystical, not only on account of his subject matter, but also through the aesthetic aspects of color and form. Greatly admired by contemporaries such as Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas, Redon influenced artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse and Marcel Duchamp, as well as the Surrealists. The artist’s brilliant ideas and his contextually, technically and materially multifaceted body of work are presented in this catalogue.
Born in France to a prosperous family, Odilon Redon (1840–1916) began drawing at an early age and moved to Paris after unsuccessful forays into architecture and sculpture. Redon began his career working primarily in charcoal and lithography, before transitioning to oils and pastels in the 1890s. With his keen interest in literature, Redon found champions and collaborators in Joris-Karl Huysmans, Emile Hennequin and, most significantly, the Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Redon’s work achieved international renown after being exhibited at the American Armory Show in 1913.
Born in France to a prosperous family, Odilon Redon (1840–1916) began drawing at an early age and moved to Paris after unsuccessful forays into architecture and sculpture. Redon began his career working primarily in charcoal and lithography, before transitioning to oils and pastels in the 1890s. With his keen interest in literature, Redon found champions and collaborators in Joris-Karl Huysmans, Emile Hennequin and, most significantly, the Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Redon’s work achieved international renown after being exhibited at the American Armory Show in 1913.
- GenresArtNonfiction
168 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 1994
65 people want to read
About the author
Odilon Redon
85 books16 followersBertrand-Jean Redon, better known as Odilon Redon (April 20, 1840 – July 6, 1916) was a French symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman and pastellist.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 12, 2016
Eisnein's No.30 Favorite Artist/Artbook. Check Out No.31 Right HERE. Go Back to No.1 HERE.
Symbolism was always more of an artistic trend than a movement, a loose grouping of specific associations like 'Les XX' and 'Le Rose et la Croix' in fin-de-siecle Belgium & France, and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in England. In each of these Symbolist 'congregations', more specific ideals and philosophies crystallized.
'Le Rose et la Croix' was a sub-sect of Rosicrucian Theosophy, refined and developed by the Guru who brought together artists, poets, and thinkers from across Europe, Joseph Peladan. Most of these groups had their own philosopher-leader, though none so fascinating as Peladan; they shared thematic and aesthetic predilections that marked them as the artistic relatives of Gustave Moreau and Arnold Bocklin -- the two men whose art would best define the vague terrain of Symbolism.
While many of these artists were largely forgotten by 20th Century Modernism, only now being recognized as essential and often brilliant predecessors of the movements to come, as opposed to anomalous and eccentric dead ends. Two Symbolists who were not ignored in favor of their Impressionist and Divisionist contemporaries were James Ensor and Odilon Redon.
Both men have been well-regarded by most critics throughout the intervening years, perhaps because their singular styles permitted extracting them from the context and social milieu of Symbolism, rehabilitated as strange and stunted branches on the Genealogical tree of Modernism. Redon and Ensor have had excellent English language monographs devoted to them, the best being the Ensor catalogue raisonne by Xavier Tricot and this one, accompanying a recent show for the works of Odilon Redon, both published by Hatje Cantz.
Odilon Redon's self-titled, just released monograph accompanies an exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler. It's a beautiful book, forgoing the dust-jacket for wraparound art on cover-boards depicting a painting detail that makes evident his mastery of color and dream-like compositions. Although it's only 170 pages in length, there are many large-scale reproductions of both his paintings and his early charcoal 'Noirs'. The imagery of his black-and-white period, with it's cryptic themes and disturbing motifs, is just as fascinating to explore as his celebrated career as a painter, where his bold use of colors and nearly abstract subject matter would have a profound impact on the next generation of artists. Hatje Cantz are one of the best publishers of art books around, and the production of this book incorporated the best paper and binding suited for monographs, at a 10" x 12" size format ideal for art books. Book Design/Material: 5/5 - Subject Matter: 5/5...
Eisnein's No.30 Favorite Artist/Artbook. Check Out No.31 Right HERE. Go Back to No.1 HERE.
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Symbolism was always more of an artistic trend than a movement, a loose grouping of specific associations like 'Les XX' and 'Le Rose et la Croix' in fin-de-siecle Belgium & France, and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in England. In each of these Symbolist 'congregations', more specific ideals and philosophies crystallized.
'Le Rose et la Croix' was a sub-sect of Rosicrucian Theosophy, refined and developed by the Guru who brought together artists, poets, and thinkers from across Europe, Joseph Peladan. Most of these groups had their own philosopher-leader, though none so fascinating as Peladan; they shared thematic and aesthetic predilections that marked them as the artistic relatives of Gustave Moreau and Arnold Bocklin -- the two men whose art would best define the vague terrain of Symbolism.
While many of these artists were largely forgotten by 20th Century Modernism, only now being recognized as essential and often brilliant predecessors of the movements to come, as opposed to anomalous and eccentric dead ends. Two Symbolists who were not ignored in favor of their Impressionist and Divisionist contemporaries were James Ensor and Odilon Redon.
Both men have been well-regarded by most critics throughout the intervening years, perhaps because their singular styles permitted extracting them from the context and social milieu of Symbolism, rehabilitated as strange and stunted branches on the Genealogical tree of Modernism. Redon and Ensor have had excellent English language monographs devoted to them, the best being the Ensor catalogue raisonne by Xavier Tricot and this one, accompanying a recent show for the works of Odilon Redon, both published by Hatje Cantz.
Odilon Redon's self-titled, just released monograph accompanies an exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler. It's a beautiful book, forgoing the dust-jacket for wraparound art on cover-boards depicting a painting detail that makes evident his mastery of color and dream-like compositions. Although it's only 170 pages in length, there are many large-scale reproductions of both his paintings and his early charcoal 'Noirs'. The imagery of his black-and-white period, with it's cryptic themes and disturbing motifs, is just as fascinating to explore as his celebrated career as a painter, where his bold use of colors and nearly abstract subject matter would have a profound impact on the next generation of artists. Hatje Cantz are one of the best publishers of art books around, and the production of this book incorporated the best paper and binding suited for monographs, at a 10" x 12" size format ideal for art books. Book Design/Material: 5/5 - Subject Matter: 5/5...
Eisnein's No.30 Favorite Artist/Artbook. Check Out No.31 Right HERE. Go Back to No.1 HERE.
More Art-book Reviews
More Comic-book Reviews
More Novel Reviews
July 30, 2019
Odilon Redon is one of the most astonishing artists on the threshold of modernism. His work is dominated by the interplay of tradition and innovation. Much admired by contemporaries, Redon may be described as one of the principal founding fathers of modern art.
Redon’s art points the way toward several paths that would lead to major developments in 20th Century art - to Fauvism and Cubism, for example.
Marked by strong contrasts, Redon’s subtle, haunting oeuvre developed from the pervasive black of the early charcoal drawings and lithographs to the explosive color of his later pastels and oils. His works comprise both the uncanny and the joyful: monstrous creatures appear alongside heavenly beings, and dreams combine with nightmares, nature with fantasy.
Radon’s fascination with darkness went hand in hand with an exploration of the uncanny and mysterious, allied to an interest in the subconscious. Many of his “black” prints and drawings testify to a penchant for literary, fantastical, and visionary subjects with a metaphysical aspect.
Redon’s art points the way toward several paths that would lead to major developments in 20th Century art - to Fauvism and Cubism, for example.
Marked by strong contrasts, Redon’s subtle, haunting oeuvre developed from the pervasive black of the early charcoal drawings and lithographs to the explosive color of his later pastels and oils. His works comprise both the uncanny and the joyful: monstrous creatures appear alongside heavenly beings, and dreams combine with nightmares, nature with fantasy.
Radon’s fascination with darkness went hand in hand with an exploration of the uncanny and mysterious, allied to an interest in the subconscious. Many of his “black” prints and drawings testify to a penchant for literary, fantastical, and visionary subjects with a metaphysical aspect.
July 10, 2019
High quality color prints allow the beautiful bright colors of Redon’s palette to shine and the subtlety of the charcoal drawings to be studied. The text is equally impressive delving into the influence of Odilon Redon and the rise of the symbolist movement.
December 5, 2023
Fun to look at Redon's color works. This included some of his black and white graphic works. The text was fine. The layout and organization of the book could have been better.
September 5, 2015
A beautiful publication on this enigmatic and visionary artist. The text does well in explaining Redon's relationship with his precursors, as well as the influence he had on his followers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews