“…Le pavot noir emerged during a key period of transition in Odilon Redon’s career, as he focused increasingly on floral still-lifes in his work, using their luscious blooms to explore the power of color. Echoing the natural arrangement of wild blossoms in a meadow, the bouquets favored by the artist embodied the essential beauty of the natural world that so captivated Redon. As he explained: “I do not know of anything that has given me more pleasure than such an appreciation of simple flowers in their vase breathing air” (quoted in Odilon Redon, 1840-1916, exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago, 1994, p. 294). As suggested by the title, the present bouquet is dominated by the appearance of the unusual black poppy on the right hand side, its large, velvety petals unfurled in an almost perfect circle, lending great drama to the composition. A small butterfly drifts upwards towards the bright blooms, drawn to their vibrant, vivacious tones, which Redon captures in a variety of brushstrokes, conveying the individual textures, shapes and hues of each flower and piece of greenery.”

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Odilon Redon at wikiwand

Fleur Roos Rosa de Carvalho, ‘Decorative panels’, in Odilon Redon
and Andries Bonger: 36 works from the Van Gogh Museum collection,
Amsterdam 2022, FREE PDF HERE

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Odilon Redon At Sunnyside

Odilon Redon at Van Gogh Museum

Odilon Redon at Musée d’Orsay

Odilon Redon at Christie’s

Odilon Redon at Sotheby’s

Odilon Redon at wikimedia

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~Sunnyside