AN APPRECIATION: Odlion Redon![]() Odlion Redon is often classified as a Symbolist artist as his works often contain images derived from the supernatural and the imagination. However, Redon does not readily fall into any category. For the first half of his career, his monochromatic images were dark both in terms of brightness and subject. Then in the second half of his career, he shifted to bright colorful works. His style was quite unique.
Redon was born in Bordeaux into a well-to-do family on April 24, 1840. His actual given name was Bertrand Jean but he was always known by the nickname “Odlion”, which was derived from his mother's name. The boy was sickly and was sent to live with his uncle on the family's winemaking estate in Peyrelebade. There he led a solitary and melancholy existence. By the time Odlion was 11, he was back with his parents in Bordeaux. After he won a prize for drawing, his parents arranged for Odlion to study with the watercolor artists Stanislas Gorin who introduced him to the works of Eugene Delacroix, Francisco Goya and Jean-Bapiste-Camille Corot. Odlion's father wanted his son to use his artistic talent to become an architect. However, in 1857, Odlion failed the entrance examination for architectural study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. While he was in Paris, Odlion became interested in the new scientific theories of Charles Darwin. More importantly, he read the works of Gustave Flaubert, Edgar Alan Poe and Charles Baudelaire. These combined with a study of Hinduism and Buddhism touched the young artist's melancholy imagination. In 1864, Odlion enrolled in the atelier of the well-known academic painter Jean-Leon Gerome. However, Odlion felt constrained by the older artist's insistence on the detailed academic style of painting. Odlion returned home to Bordeaux in 1865. There he met Rodolphe Bresdin who taught Redon etching and engraving. Redon also was influenced by Bresdin's view that artists use their imagination and spiritualism in creating art. Redon's artistic development was brought to an abrupt halt by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Drafted into the army, Redon experienced the horrors of war, the humiliating defeat of France and the troubles of the Paris Commune, which followed the war. In addition, Odlion's father died penniless in 1871. These experiences further fed Redon's dark world view. This world view found expression in Redon's art. Working once again in Paris, he abandoned color and created works using black charcoal. In his “Noirs,” Redon drew monsters, dreams, the supernatural and imaginary beings that came from the darker side of his imagination or which were inspired by the works of Poe, Flaubert and other dark visionaries. In 1872, Redon met the artists Henri Fantin-Latour who introduced Redon to lithography. By 1878, Redon had adopted this medium, which allowed him to make prints based on his Noir drawings. Whereas an artist can only sell a drawing once, multiple sales could be made with prints. In 1880, Redon married. It was a happy marriage but was clouded by the death of the couple's son at six months of age. During this period, Redon became friends with the poet Stephane Mallarme who was well-connected in avant garde art circles. Through him, Redon met a number of Symbolist artists as well as writers and thinkers. One of these authors, Joris-Karl Huysmans, decided to have the main character in his novel Against Nature own a collection of Redon's works. The novel was a success and brought Redon's name to the attention of a wider audience. In 1886, Redon was invited to exhibit at the last Impressionist Exhibition. By this time, the original group of Impressionists had fractured and major names such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir did not participate. Edgar Degas attempted to breath new life into the exhibition by including talented avant garde artists even if they did not work in the Impressionist style. While this made for a somewhat incoherent exhibition, people were attracted by the Impressionist name and so it was well-attended. Thus, even though Redon was not an Impressionist, it was a plus to participate in one of the Impressionist Exhibitions. Around this time, Redon became friends with Paul Gauguin. Although Gauguin had been an active participant in the Impressionist movement, he had now abandoned Impressionism. Rather than trying to depict what the eye saw, Gauguin was now interested in working from the imagination. Inasmuch as Redon worked from his imagination, Gauguin and he had something in common. Of course, Gauguin worked in color whereas Redon worked in shades of black and white. However, during the decade of the 1890s, Redon changed his style radically, embracing vivid colors and turning to pastels and oil paint. This change may well have been due to the influence of Gauguin and other contemporary artists he had met including Pierre Bonnard and Edourad Vuillard of the Nabis but it could also have been due to a happier world view following the birth of Redon's second son in 1889. In the years following the turn of the century, Redon was applying his colorful style to mythological, literary and spiritual subjects as well as in portrait commissions. He also did a number of decorative works that reflect the influence of Japanese art. The best known of his decorative works are the wall panels he did for the chateau of Baron Robert de Domecy and Fontfroide Abbey. Redon's success is evidenced by the fact that in 1903, the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor. His acceptance by the avant garde and his prominent role in influencing Modern Art, is reflected by the fact that he exhibited more works than any other artist at the landmark 1913 Armory Show in New York City. World War I cast a cloud over Redon's success. His beloved son served at the front. Perhaps due to this stress, Redon died in 1916. See our profiles of these other Post Impressionists
Emile Bernard Paul Cezanne Paul Gauguin Henri Toulouse Lautrec Odlion Redon Henri Rousseau George Seurat Paul Signac Vincent Van Gogh |
Two works from Redon's Noir period. Above: "The Smiling Spider," one of Redon's best know images. Below: "The Guardian of the Waters," Redon's first major success.
Above: Redon's portrait of Baroness de Domecy.
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Artist appreciation - Odlion Redon