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| Sunset, Odilon Redon |
Odilon Redon was born in 1840 in Bordeaux, France to a prosperous family. He showed an early talent for drawing, but at the insistence of his father switched to architecture. Failure to win entrance to École des Beaux-Arts in Paris ended that side excursion.
Back home, Redon took up sculpture and studied etching and lithography. After service in the Franco-Prussian War, he worked in charcoal and lithography, finally gaining minor recognition in 1878. He was also mentioned in an 1884 novel. In the 1890s he began working in oils and pastels and in 1889 he began exhibiting.
Considered a symbolist, he is also seen as a precursor to Dadaism and Surrealism. His early works are dark and moody, but his later works turned bright and colorful. This change has been attributed to his friendships with Paul Gauguin and Maurice Denis. I don’t care for his early works a bit-they look like he was documenting nightmares. But I find his later works quite pleasant to look at.
Redon died in Paris in 1916.
Note: Fine Art Tuesday was started by Eaton Rapids Joe in memory of Ol’ Remus, late proprietor of the Woodpile Report. If you’re a blogger and are so moved, please feel free to join us with your own Fine Art Tuesday post.
