
Odilon RedonFrankrijk, 1840–1916Mag men het zien?
Cleveland, Verenigde Staten
Het hoort bij de collectie, maar is momenteel niet tentoongesteld.
One of Redon’s favorite themes was a head depicted in profile, sometimes separated from the body to symbolize the spirit released from the material world. It also suggests a metaphor for abandoning physical reality for the inner realm of dreams, fantasy, and poetic reverie. This painting conveys the idea of inward-turning vision by framing the head in a series of collapsing rectangles. Conservation analysis confirms that the figure is a woman wearing a helmet and holding a green staff in her right hand.
Cleveland Museum of Art
1867–1915
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.
30 april 1889
Son born: Arï Redon
from 1890
The turn from “noirs” to colour
From 1890 Redon turned more and more to oil and pastel and gave up his “black” works; after 1900 he made no more noirs. He explained the change by saying he had realised that the unwinding ribbon of life brings not only sorrow but joy.