Odilon Redon

About the Artist

Odilon Redon was a Symbolist painter born in France in 1840 and died in 1916. Active mainly in Paris, he initially produced works using charcoal and lithography. Redon's artistic world is marked by dark tones and a dreamlike atmosphere, with his early 'noirs' in particular carrying intense emotion and a somber mood. He later came to favor pastel and oil paint, and work from this period shows warmer color and more refined expression. His signature works include dreamlike paintings made from the late 19th to the early 20th century, known to have been influenced by Japanese art. His art is regarded as a forerunner of abstract art and a precursor of Surrealism.