Closed Eyes

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.