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The Breadth and Flatness of the Frontal Bone
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Odilon Redon was a voracious reader of contemporary literature, and such texts often influenced his art. This series was inspired by <em>The Haunted and the Haunters,</em> an 1859 novel by British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Redon’s prints capture the book’s mysterious tone and emphasis on the supernatural through vague but evocative imagery that sometimes borders on abstraction. By this time a seasoned expert in lithography, the artist collaborated with master printer Auguste Clot. Their combined technical skills allowed for the rich tonal variation seen here, made by turning Redon’s lithographic crayon on its side, layering various marks, and even scratching directly into the surface of his stone.
| Artist / Maker | Odilon Redon |
|---|---|
| Date | 1896 |
| Culture / Origin | France, late 19th Century |
| Medium | lithograph on China paper laid on wove paper |
| Dimensions | Image: 14 x 9 cm (5 1/2 x 3 9/16 in.); Sheet: 44.9 x 31.5 cm (17 11/16 x 12 3/8 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.
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