Redon, Odilon

Redon, Odilon (1840-1916), French painter and lithographer, born in Bordeaux. His albums of lithographs, such as Dans le Rêve (In the Dream, 1879) and La Nuit (Night, 1886), show a dramatic range from deep blacks to vivid whites. In such works Redon, like his friends the Symbolist writers, strove to give form to ideas, especially his own thoughts, emotions, and dreams. He was also inspired by literature and biology. After 1890 he turned to oils and pastels. His brilliantly coloured flowers, landscapes, and literary subjects have a romantic, dream-like quality, as, for example, Vase of Flowers (1914, Museum of Modern Art, New York) and Orpheus (1903, Cleveland Museum of Art). Redon is considered a precursor of Surrealism.