Artwork
Passage d'une Ame (Passage of a Spirit)
Passage d'une Ame (Passage of a Spirit) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1891 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Passage d'une Ame (Passage of a Spirit) is an etching created by Odilon Redon in 1891.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a ghostly figure ascending, rendered in soft, transparent lines that suggest the ethereal nature of the subject. Dark, amorphous shapes in the background evoke either twisted branches or undulating smoke.
Technique & Style
Redon employed the etching technique to achieve a textured, dynamic effect. The scratchy lines used to define the figure convey a sense of movement and impermanence, as if the spirit is dissolving into the surrounding atmosphere.
Artist & collection
Artist
Born Bertrand-Jean Redon on 20 April 1840 in Bordeaux, the artist adopted the name Odilon from his mother, Marie-Odile.
Nude with Her Arms Raised (Le modèle nue les bras levés)
Nude with Her Arms Raised (Le modèle nue les bras levés)
Woman Reading (Liseuse)
Flowers Fall and the Head of a Python Appears
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!")
Akt mit hochgehobenem Hemd (Woman Undressing)
La Mort: Mon ironie depasse toutes les autres! (Death: My iron surpasses all others!)
Pélerin du monde sublunaire (Pilgrim of the sublunary world)
The Doll (La Poupée)
Der Kuss (The Kiss)
Leda Sleeping (Léda s'endort)
Passage of a Soul