I’ve become fascinated by the paintings of Redon (1840-1916), a French artist and Symbolist working mostly in charcoal, pastel, and oil. I included one of his paintings in my last post called “La Barque.” I even went so far as to paint a study of it in watercolor as a way to loosen up my own work and let imagination and feeling help free me from an over-reliance on realism.
Many of his paintings feature boats, the sea, and underwater images, which no doubt is why I first gravitated to his work. But I think his musical compositions, his richly saturated colors, and his turn toward the poetic–the mystical and mythical–also drew me. Even perhaps his interest in Eastern philosophy, in Buddha and Hinduism, the indeterminate and invisible. In all these ways he is an artist that speaks to my heart.
Many of his paintings are dream-like. They evoke reality rather than depict it. On his painting entitled “Underwater Vision,” he wrote: “You will feel the poetry of the sands, the charms of the air of the imperceptible line. While I recognize the necessity for a basis of observed reality… true art lies in a reality that is felt.”
His earlier work, mostly in charcoal and lithograph, was dark and sometimes seemed demonic (a spider with a human head, for instance.) But later they became full of light. One art historian says that Redon began to want his works to portray “the triumph of light over darkness.”
Redon wrote: “My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.”
Here are a few of his works that inspire me and show a range of his subjects.
Luanne said:
Wow, those are absolutely gorgeous. I’ve never seen them before either, so that was special.
deborahbrasket said:
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Luanne.
Ken Chawkin said:
I never heard of this artist. Very nice presentation, with paintings and quotes. Thank you for telling us about him and sharing some of them that moved you!
deborahbrasket said:
Thank you, Ken.
Ken Chawkin said:
Some of the paintings seem to be biblical. That last one with the multicolored coat could be Joseph.
deborahbrasket said:
He does have some biblical paintings, but that last one painting is entitled “Buddha”. I had meant to include the titles of the paintings in this post. I’ll go back and add them now. Thanks for the heads up.
Ken Chawkin said:
Yes, a closer look tells me it’s an Asian-looking face. Thanks for titling the rest of the paintings. It helps.
Jessie said:
Thanks for introducing Redon, Deb. Will look for more of his work.
deborahbrasket said:
You are welcome, Jessie. I’ve discovered several “new to me” artists through Pinterest.
laura bruno lilly said:
Hello Deborah,
I did a brief first google search on this artist specifically to find some of his compositions as you mentioned he was a composer in your post. I found a wealth of quotes and visual artistry, but no music. Can you direct me to a source?
Great to see you on-line again.
peace
deborahbrasket said:
Hi Laura, sorry for misleading you. When I wrote about his “musical” compositions, I meant rhythmical, and was referring to his paintings. I was also drawing attention to how music influenced his work, as one writer had mentioned.,
laura bruno lilly said:
Oh, of course…my bad. I do like the images that came up on that google search, though. 🙂
deborahbrasket said:
Yes, there’s so many more of his paintings that I love and didn’t share here. Glad you had a chance to see more of them.