Artwork

To All Appearances, It Was a Hand of Flesh and Blood Just Like My Own

To All Appearances, It Was a Hand of Flesh and Blood Just Like My Own is a print by the Impressionist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

If you like this, check out the technique called *sfumato*—it’s how artists blend tones to make things look hazy.

You see a floating, ghostly hand against a dark, cloudy background. The fingers look almost real, but the edges blur into shadows.

Redon made this as part of a series based on a spooky 1859 novel. The book’s eerie mood inspired him to create images that feel like half-remembered dreams. He worked closely with a printer to get the soft, smoky effect.

If you like this, check out the technique called *sfumato*—it’s how artists blend tones to make things look hazy.

Overview

To All Appearances, It Was a Hand of Flesh and Blood Just Like My Own is a print by Odilon Redon, part of a series inspired by a literary work.

Subject & Meaning

The print depicts a ghostly, floating hand against a dark, cloudy background, evoking a sense of mystery and the supernatural. The image's vague yet evocative quality captures the eerie mood of its literary source.

Technique & Style

Redon, an experienced lithographer, collaborated with printer Auguste Clot to achieve a rich tonal variation. Techniques such as layering marks, scratching the stone, and using the lithographic crayon on its side created a soft, smoky effect, blurring the hand's edges into shadows.

History & Provenance

The series was inspired by Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1859 novel, The Haunted and the Haunters. Redon's work reflects the book's emphasis on the supernatural and its mysterious tone.