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Redon
Hardcover, 8.3 x 10.2 in., 1.25 lb, 96 pages20Edition: Spanish Availability: Coming soonEnter your email address here and we will notify you when copies become available:
With his dream-like imagery, sumptuous textures, and suggestive use of color, Symbolist star Odilon Redon sought to create a pictorial equivalent to his own psyche. Whether in his somber early works or lighter later canvases, he was above all an artist of states of mind, with considerable influence on Post-Impressionism.

Redon
20Symbols and Shadows
States of mind in pastel, charcoal and oil
A major Symbolist artist, Odilon Redon (1840–1916) was also a painter of scenic and emotional extremes. Until around 1890, he was renowned for work in black and white only. These “Noirs” in charcoal drawing or lithograph were composed not only of a sombre palette, but also by fantastic, frightening figures. Gradually, the artist began to introduce colored pastel, and with it, new and lighter motifs. Flowers became a recurring preoccupation. Where symbols of melancholy once stood, horses and fluttering butterflies entered the scene.
While this latter-day lyricism and harmony contrasted sharply with Redon’s earlier mood of melancholy, his guiding principle remained to “place the visible at the service of the invisible”. With his dream-like imagery, sumptuous textures, and suggestive use of color, Redon sought to create a pictorial equivalent to his own psyche. From foreboding to lightness, he was above all an artist of states of mind, with considerable influence on later Post-Impressionism.
While this latter-day lyricism and harmony contrasted sharply with Redon’s earlier mood of melancholy, his guiding principle remained to “place the visible at the service of the invisible”. With his dream-like imagery, sumptuous textures, and suggestive use of color, Redon sought to create a pictorial equivalent to his own psyche. From foreboding to lightness, he was above all an artist of states of mind, with considerable influence on later Post-Impressionism.
The author
Michael Gibson was an art critic, art historian, anthropologist, writer, and philosopher. He wrote on art for numerous publications like The New York Times and Connaissance des Arts. Gibson was editor-in-chief of UNESCO’s World Heritage review. His many books include Redon and Symbolism, both published by TASCHEN.
Redon
Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.56 kg, 96 pagesISBN 978-3-8365-5319-3
Edition: SpanishBorn back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:
a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
a concise biography
approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
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