“When, in 1893, Redon began to use colour, the nightmarish and macabre visions that had previously predominated in the drawings he called his Noirs gave way to a brighter vision of the world.La Voile grise is thus emblematic of Redon’s lyrical seascapes in which he depicted small stranded boats, a theme he would later return…

“As a young man, Redon was fascinated with Darwinian biology and enjoyed a close friendship with Armand Clavaud, the curator of the botanical gardens in his hometown of Bordeaux. In late floral still lifes such as this one, the artist demonstrated a naturalist’s sense of wonder as well as a richly inventive imagination, combining many…

The evocative, symbolic art of Odilon Redon drew its inspiration from the internal world of his imagination. For years this student of Rodolphe Bresdin worked only in black and white, producing powerful and haunting charcoal drawings, lithographs, and etchings. Just as these black works, or Noirs, began to receive critical and public acclaim in the…