Odilon Redonartist • painter • watercolourist • draughtsmanBordeaux (Frankrijk) 1840-1916 Parijs

Odilon Redon is considered one of the most important French Symbolists. In a suggestive and subjective way, which leaves a lot of room for fantasy, these late 19th-century artists painted dreamlike scenes, arising from their personal experience. The supernatural, religion, literature and music were also a source of inspiration. Symbolist artists no longer focused on capturing reality in their work, but believed that their ideas and emotions could best be portrayed through stylization and abstraction; recognizable elements are also present in the most suggestive paintings. Redon's oeuvre consists of religious, mythological and mystical representations, figures, nudes, portraits, landscapes, still lifes and flowers, often with a dreamlike atmosphere. He mainly made a name for himself as a lithographer; During the first 20 years of his career as an artist, he devoted himself almost exclusively to etching, drawing and lithography. With his fantastic, sometimes macabre subjects, with a strong expression through dramatic black and white contrasts, he created a world of visions, with monsters and other non-existent creatures. It was not until about 1895 that Redon allowed colour into his work and numerous paintings, pastels, emerged, and the gloomy scenes disappeared for friendlier, sweeter subjects. A flowing, clear and original use of colour, in harmonious combinations, in oil, pastel and watercolour, give his paintings a very individual character. Redon's 'dream works' have had a significant influence on 20th-century surrealism.