REDON, Odilon

This small painting is one of the painter’s best-known works and is typical of Redon’s symbolism. It shows a female face framed by long hair, painted in delicate and thinly applied colours. The woman’s eyes are closed, her gaze directed inwards. The unreal blue of the background distances the face in the same way as the horizon. The head, absorbed in itself, is not a portrait. It could just as easily be called “The Dream” or “Meditation” - titles such as these occur again and again in Redon.

This picture, which shows so little likeness to Gauguin, was painted after Gauguin’s death in 1903, completely from memory. The painter is depicted here detached from all material relationships in a world that belongs completely to painting and fantasy, to dream and vision.

The present pastel is one of the highpoints of the decorative period (1907-10) in Redon’s work. The sun-god Apollo, who was nicknamed “the shining one,” is not directly visible himself in the picture but is probably understood to be present in the beam of light on the right-hand edge of the picture. The reflection of this light on the horses pulling his chariot conveys its intensity.

Redon started out as a landscapist, and from his youth the tree was a favourite motif. After he arrived at a Symbolist aesthetic, allegorical meanings expressed themselves ever more strongly in his works. In this image, the tree represents the eternity of nature and a living link between earth and heaven. Depending on whether it is depicted green or bare, as here, it also symbolizes the transition from day to night, from awakening to sleep.

Redon, one of the most striking exponents of French Symbolism, was often inspired by literary plots and impressions. he maintained contact with writers, including a friendship with St�phane Mallarm�. In this pastel, it is possible to detect echoes of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, a theme to which he returned repeatedly. The model also bears a resemblance to Redon’s wife, Camille, who inspired the majority of his female images.