Odilon Redon

1840 - 1916

French

Odillon Redon was a French Symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and pastellist. Printmaking was of such interest to Redon that he became known as the modern master of lithographs. The first 20 years of his career were dedicated to monochromatic drawings, etchings, and lithographs called noirs, or works in black. In the 1890s, pastel and oils became his favored media. As an artist at the turn of the century in Paris, he aligned himself with Symbolist poets such as Delacroix, Baudelaire, and the Romantics. Redon was appreciated for his ability to translate words into their visual equivalents.