Artwork

La sirene sortit des flots vetue de dards (The Siren clothed in barbs, emerged from the waves

La sirene sortit des flots vetue de dards (The Siren clothed in barbs, emerged from the waves is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1883 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Odilon Redon’s 1883 lithograph, titled *La sirène sortit des flots vêtue de dards* (The Siren clothed in barbs, emerged from the waves), presents a mythic hybrid figure rising from stylized water. The work is executed in the lithographic medium, allowing the artist to draw directly onto a stone surface before transferring the image to paper.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on a half‑human, half‑fish entity. The upper portion displays a woman with flowing hair, while the lower half is a massive fish whose back is lined with sharp spines. The tail coils around the body like a serpent, and the open mouth suggests a warning or a moment of revelation.

Technique & Style

Redon employed loose, sketch‑like lines that convey a fleeting, dreamlike atmosphere. The lithographic process, which involves drawing on a prepared stone and printing from that matrix, enables the fluid, spontaneous quality evident in the work’s contours and tonal variations.

History & Provenance

Created in 1883, the print belongs to Redon’s early forays into printmaking, a period when he explored symbolic and fantastical subjects through lithography. Details of its subsequent ownership are not extensively recorded, but it remains representative of his output during the late nineteenth century.

Context

The image reflects the Symbolist fascination with mythological hybrids and the uncanny. By portraying a siren equipped with barbs, Redon juxtaposes allure and danger, echoing contemporary literary and artistic interests in the dual nature of beauty and threat.