Artwork
Le Buddha
Le Buddha is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Le Buddha is a 1895 lithograph by Odilon Redon.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a shadowy figure beside a large, smooth form, set against a dark background with a glowing circle. The figure's simplicity and the surrounding swirling lines create an enigmatic atmosphere. Although titled Le Buddha, the figure diverges from traditional representations of Buddha.
Technique & Style
Redon employed soft, smudged lines to achieve a dreamy, ambiguous effect. The lithographic technique enabled the creation of ghostly, indistinct images characteristic of his work.
Artist & collection
Artist
Born Bertrand-Jean Redon on 20 April 1840 in Bordeaux, the artist adopted the name Odilon from his mother, Marie-Odile.
Flowers Fall and the Head of a Python Appears
Une femme revêtue du Soleil (A woman clothed with the sun)
Le Sphynx...mon regard que rien ne peut devier, demeure tendu a travers les choses sur un horizon inaccessible. La Chimere: Moi,Je suis legere et joyeuse (The Sphinx: "My gaze, which nothing can deflect, passes through the things and remains fixed on an inaccessible horizon." The Chimera: "I am weightless and joyful")
Pélerin du monde sublunaire (Pilgrim of the sublunary world)
The Man Was Alone in a Night Landscape
Et la-bas l'idole astrale, l'Apotheose (And beyond, the star idol, the apotheosis)
Les Sciapodes: La tete le plus bas possible, c'est le secret du bonheur! (The Skiapods: "The head as low as possible, that is the secret of happiness!")
Hommage à Tolstoï
Sur le fond de nos nuits dieu de son doigt savant dessine un cauchemar multiforme et sans treve (On backdrop of our nights God with His knowing finger traces a multiform implacable nightmare)
Et il avait dans sa main droit sept etoiles, et de sa bouch sortait une epee aigue a deux tranchants (And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword)
The Buddha
C'etait un voile, un empreinte (It was a veil, an imprint)