Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1907 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
The composition balances muted tones with vivid accents, reflecting Redon’s shift toward brighter, more lyrical subjects in his later career.
Created circa 1907, this oil on board work by French Symbolist Odilon Redon presents a nocturnal forest scene illuminated by an orange sky. Two figures traverse the dim landscape: one draped in a white, winged cloak, the other in a pink headscarf and red dress. The composition balances muted tones with vivid accents, reflecting Redon’s shift toward brighter, more lyrical subjects in his later career.
Subject & Meaning
The central figures suggest a mythic or spiritual encounter rather than a straightforward religious narrative. The winged, cloaked presence evokes an angelic archetype, while the companion’s colorful attire introduces a human, perhaps earthly, element. The dreamlike atmosphere, reinforced by the twilight setting, invites contemplation of transcendence and the interplay between the ethereal and the tangible.
Technique & Style
Redon employs a vigorous impasto technique, applying paint in thick, uneven layers that create a tactile surface. Broad, expressive brushstrokes generate a sense of movement and texture, while the juxtaposition of rough, scraped colors against smoother areas heightens the painting’s atmospheric quality. This approach marks a departure from his earlier charcoal “noirs,” embracing a more painterly, color‑rich language.
History & Provenance
After establishing a reputation in the 1880s for charcoal drawings and lithographs, Redon turned to pastel and oil media in the 1890s, eventually abandoning the darker palette that defined his early work. This piece, produced in the latter phase of his career, entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on display as part of the institution’s holdings of early twentieth‑century Symbolist art.
Context
The painting exemplifies Redon’s late‑period transition toward softer, more luminous compositions, aligning with broader Symbolist interests in the mystical and the inner psyche. Its blend of figurative suggestion and abstracted environment anticipates later modernist explorations of dream imagery, influencing subsequent generations of artists who sought to convey the subconscious through painterly means.
Artist & collection
Artist
Born Bertrand-Jean Redon on 20 April 1840 in Bordeaux, the artist adopted the name Odilon from his mother, Marie-Odile.
