GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Odilon Redon's Temptation of St. Anthony (Tentation de Saint-Antoine) series takes its inspiration from the epic of the same title by author Gustave Flaubert. This plate illustrates one encounter between St. Anthony and the Devil. The book's popularity in the 1880s and 1890s made Redon's series a highly marketable product. More important however, its treatment of the theme of the solitary visionary made it an ideal subject for the symbolist painter. Redon first explored this theme in Homage to Goya of 1885 and would return to it throughout his career in works such as Apocalypse of St. John of 1899.
Excerpt from
Dorothy Kosinski, DMA label copy, 1997.
NOTES
Created 1896
Checked Piction
WOP-Euro
The devil cocks his head to the right. Odilon Redon's Lucifer is an unusual character with miniature batlike wings. Unlike menacing devil archetypes, his expression is pensive and passive. In the shadow, a hooded Saint Anthony cowers as though weight were on his shoulders. The dramatic dark space between the two figures is a deep, stained blackness unique to the chemical-based lithographic process. Unlike the linear quality of carved etchings or woodcuts, in lithography Redon could shade solid areas using a soft oily crayon drawn directly on stone.
The theme of a solitary visionary made St. Anthony an ideal subject for Symbolist artists. This print is from Redon's third series based on Gustave Flauberts Temptation of St. Anthony. This was a well-known subject, particularly for medieval and early Renaissance artists, to contrast good and evil, salvation and sin. However, Flaubert and Redon cast the parable in a more generalized spiritual search for meaning in life
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
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Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Historical periods
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
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WEB RESOURCES
- Musée d'Orsay, Paris~Learn more about Odilon Redon and his work from the Musee d'Orsay.
- Vimeo~Watch this video of Dr. Ted Gott presenting a paper comparing Odilon Redon to English poet and artist William Blake.
- Museum of Modern Art, New York~Check out a portfolio of lithographs from one of Redon's The Temptation of Saint Anthony series.
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Apply to objects where number equals 1982.104
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General Description
Odilon Redon's Temptation of St. Anthony (Tentation de Saint-Antoine) series takes its inspiration from the epic of the same title by author Gustave Flaubert. This plate illustrates one encounter between St. Anthony and the Devil. The book's popularity in the 1880s and 1890s made Redon's series a highly marketable product. More important however, its treatment of the theme of the solitary visionary made it an ideal subject for the symbolist painter. Redon first explored this theme in Homage to Goya of 1885 and would return to it throughout his career in works such as Apocalypse of St. John of 1899.
Excerpt from
Dorothy Kosinski, DMA label copy, 1997.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Musée d'Orsay, Paris~Learn more about Odilon Redon and his work from the Musee d'Orsay.
- Vimeo~Watch this video of Dr. Ted Gott presenting a paper comparing Odilon Redon to English poet and artist William Blake.
- Museum of Modern Art, New York~Check out a portfolio of lithographs from one of Redon's The Temptation of Saint Anthony series.
Notes
Created 1896
Checked Piction
WOP-Euro
The devil cocks his head to the right. Odilon Redon's Lucifer is an unusual character with miniature batlike wings. Unlike menacing devil archetypes, his expression is pensive and passive. In the shadow, a hooded Saint Anthony cowers as though weight were on his shoulders. The dramatic dark space between the two figures is a deep, stained blackness unique to the chemical-based lithographic process. Unlike the linear quality of carved etchings or woodcuts, in lithography Redon could shade solid areas using a soft oily crayon drawn directly on stone.
The theme of a solitary visionary made St. Anthony an ideal subject for Symbolist artists. This print is from Redon's third series based on Gustave Flauberts Temptation of St. Anthony. This was a well-known subject, particularly for medieval and early Renaissance artists, to contrast good and evil, salvation and sin. However, Flaubert and Redon cast the parable in a more generalized spiritual search for meaning in life
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1982.104
source file
object_notes_2_b-0005.xml.nores