Odilon RedonFrench, 1840–1916Fishing Village, Brittany
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Fishing Village, Brittany” now? Harvard Art Museums, Gallery 2100, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, Cambridge. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cambridge, United States
Room2100, floor 2, European and American Art, 17th–19th century
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Redon first encountered the French region of Brittany when he was a soldier in the Franco-Prussian War, and as he wrote to a critic and friend, “despite the brutal fatigue, the insane marches, I also noticed its old, unforgettable roads, and the memory was so vivid that I returned there.” At the time Redon painted this work, he was already producing the symbolist imagery for which he became famous, privileging subjectivity, fantasy, and allegory over naturalism. Though this scene appears charmingly realistic and peaceful, its emptiness should be considered in the context of the deep melancholy he wrote about in later letters describing his impression of the area. Boats such as those moored on the riverbank at right, for instance, functioned in his later art as symbols of the soul’s final journey.
Harvard Art Museums
Details
- Accession number
- 1979.11
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
In the life of Odilon Redon
The whole life1867–1915
Begins the journal “To Myself”
From 1867 Redon kept a journal, “À soi-même” (“To Myself”), setting out his views on art and creation; the last entries date from 1915.
1880s
Death of his firstborn son Jean
Redon and Camille’s firstborn son, Jean, died at six months old. The artist was so downcast that for a time he could not work; the birth of a second son in 1889 helped him recover from his grief.
1881
First exhibition of his “black” drawings
At the premises of La Vie moderne Redon exhibited all his “noir” drawings for the first time.
1884
Huysmans’s novel “Against Nature” makes him known
After the publication of Joris-Karl Huysmans’s novel “À rebours” in 1884 the public began to take an interest in Redon: the book’s hero assembled a collection of art that included Redon’s drawings.
