Lecture: Odilon Redon

 On the last class we had a lecture about Odilon Redon. Here are some of the notes I took about him:

He was born in Bourdeaux in 1840 and he started drawing when he was 15 years old. As well he attempted to study architecture to fulfill his father's requests, but he failed his exams at Paris' Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Back at home, he started to study sculpture.

He didn't achieve any recognition until he was 38 years old.

During the lecture we were told about other artists of the Paris' Ecole des Beaux Arts as well. The artists mentioned were Joseph Paxton ( known for his Crystal Palace) and Jean-Léon Gérôme ( who took part of the orientalist style).

Going back to Odilon Redon, some of his artworks were shown, such as Guardian Spirit of the Water (1878) or Martyr (1877).

This first work was part of his first album of lithographs, responsible for the recognition the artist earned. As well, his works were discovered by the author J.K. and used in the book A Rebours in 1884.

Crying Spider, 1881

Later on, the artist moved on to work with pastels and oils, having a very different appearance:

Figure holding a winged head, 1875

This lecture made me learn about an artist that I had never heard before. It is not the style I enjoy the most, but I find his first works very interesting because of how bizarre and dark they look.