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Closed Eyes
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Odilon Redon explored the image of an androgynous figure with closed eyes in several of his works. He saw the expression as representative of a meditative shift inward and away from the constraints of modern society. By drawing lightly on a lithographic stone, Redon made faint lines that subtly modeled and shaded the head and shoulders while contrasting with the more sketchily drawn, inexplicable landscape in the foreground. Part of the Print Club of Cleveland’s early gift of lithographs by Redon to the museum, this impression is a unique trial proof, printed while the artist was collaborating with master printer Becquet to assess the composition’s progress.
| Artist / Maker | Odilon Redon |
|---|---|
| Date | 1890 |
| Culture / Origin | France, 19th century |
| Medium | lithograph on China paper laid on wove paper |
| Dimensions | Image: 31.2 x 24.2 cm (12 5/16 x 9 1/2 in.) |
| Department | Prints |
| Type |
About the Artist
A leader of the symbolist movement in France, Odilon Redon was born in Bordeaux in 1840 and grew up in the surrounding region. During his early years he studied drawing, architecture, and the violin. A friendship with Armand Clavaud, a local botanist and philosopher, stimulated Redon's passion for romantic art and literature. In 1864, after a brief and discouraging period of instruction with Gérôme in Paris, Redon returned to Bordeaux, where he studied printmaking with Rodolphe Bresdin (1825-1885). Deploring the… Full biography →
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
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