Impressive Artwork by Odilon Redon

French symbolist artist Odilon Redon was famous for his drawings in the 1880s. The artist’s artworks were mentioned in the popular 1884 novel “A Rebours,” or “Against the Grain,” by Joris-Karl Hysmans. His later artworks were created in oils and pastels. He developed an interest in Hinduism and Buddhism, and this interest in mysticism is reflected in his works of art.

Apparition was created in 1910 and features many different colors. In the artwork are flowers and butterflies, while on the left two hazy figures like ghostly spirits appear. This painting reflects the deeper meaning of spiritual things, with the figure on the left being motionless while the figure on the right is drawing toward the beautiful colors starting to emit an aureole of light.

This portrait of Baroness Robert de Domecy was created in 1910. The painting depicts the life of one of the artist’s closest friends, Baron Robert de Domecy. It is one of several portraits the artist created depicting a woman. The woman in the painting takes up the right side and appears to be deep in contemplation, gazing toward the left.

Buddha, created in 1904, is one of the artist’s larger paintings. This artwork depicts the Buddha sitting in his typical lotus position meditating under a tree. This painting emphasizes the interest Redon developed in Eastern spirituality. What is interesting about this creation is that the Buddha figure almost appears to be part of the tree he is sitting under. The colors chosen for the background were used since they could blend into the design of an interior.

The painting, Butterflies, was created in 1910 during the final part of Redon’s life. At this time he created artworks using oils or pastels and switched from black and white paintings to colorful ones. He enjoyed painting nature, such as butterflies or seashells, and painted these so they appeared dreamlike. He believed that art could form a bridge between the material and spiritual worlds.

Caliban is a character from The Tempest by William Shakespeare. He was a great inspiration for Redon and depicted in several other works of art. In this artwork, Caliban Asleep, the creature is asleep and has been interpreted as the Elizabethan Renaissance myth as a savage, strange hybrid creature that was closely associated with the plant world.

Created in 1914, The Cyclops is a painting depicting the mythical cyclops Polyphemus. In Greek mythology he was the one-eyed son of Poseidon and Thoosa. In the story, he fell in love with the beautiful naiad Galatea. In the picture, Galatea can be seen sleeping on a hill covered in flowers while the shy cyclops approaches from behind the rocky terrain.

Created in 1910, the Evocation of Roussel is a remarkably colorful artwork. It depicts a balding old man with peach-colored skin tone. He is surrounded by flowers, and above is a blue sky with pinkish colored clouds. The artist used thick brushstrokes, which are visible in this painting.

Another still life by Redon, The Green Vase, was created in 1900. The painting highlights the shiny green vase with flowers. The brown table upon which the vase stands slightly reflects the vase.

The Port of Morgat was created in 1883 at a time when most of Redon’s artworks were focused on creating lithographs and black and white drawings. This painting was completed during his second trip to Brittany on the Atlantic coast in northwest France. The artist took long walks in this part of the country and brought along his notebooks to make drawings. In the picture the town of Morgat seems to be hidden behind a lareg rock and the boat makes up the foreground.