Odilon Redon
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Very good
Pages: Good
Markings: Fair - Rubbed edges and bumping on spine and corners
At the intersection of Symbolism and Surrealism stands Odilon Redon, the visionary French artist whose haunting imagery and chromatic brilliance defied every artistic convention of his age. Richard Hobbs' authoritative study chronicles the life and creative evolution of this singular painter and printmaker, tracing his journey from the brooding charcoal Noirs — shadowy lithographs teeming with fantastical creatures and disembodied eyes — to the luminous, colour-drenched pastels and oils that would define his later mastery. Grounding Redon firmly within the intellectual and aesthetic currents of late 19th-century France, Hobbs presents a rigorous yet accessible account of an artist who drew inspiration from Symbolist literature, science, and the deepest recesses of human imagination. Hobbs' analytical prose illuminates Redon's profound engagement with writers such as Baudelaire and Mallarmé, arguing compellingly that his art is not mere decoration but a sustained meditation on the unconscious, mortality, and transcendence. The study details the critical reception of Redon's work during his lifetime and traces his lasting influence on the Surrealist movement that followed. For anyone seeking to understand how one artist quietly revolutionised the language of Western art, this volume poses a question that lingers long after the final page: what lies beyond the boundary of the visible world?
Author: Richard Hobbs
Format: Hardback
Published: 1977, Studio Vista, London
Genre: History of arts
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Very good
Pages: Good
Markings: Fair - Rubbed edges and bumping on spine and corners
At the intersection of Symbolism and Surrealism stands Odilon Redon, the visionary French artist whose haunting imagery and chromatic brilliance defied every artistic convention of his age. Richard Hobbs' authoritative study chronicles the life and creative evolution of this singular painter and printmaker, tracing his journey from the brooding charcoal Noirs — shadowy lithographs teeming with fantastical creatures and disembodied eyes — to the luminous, colour-drenched pastels and oils that would define his later mastery. Grounding Redon firmly within the intellectual and aesthetic currents of late 19th-century France, Hobbs presents a rigorous yet accessible account of an artist who drew inspiration from Symbolist literature, science, and the deepest recesses of human imagination. Hobbs' analytical prose illuminates Redon's profound engagement with writers such as Baudelaire and Mallarmé, arguing compellingly that his art is not mere decoration but a sustained meditation on the unconscious, mortality, and transcendence. The study details the critical reception of Redon's work during his lifetime and traces his lasting influence on the Surrealist movement that followed. For anyone seeking to understand how one artist quietly revolutionised the language of Western art, this volume poses a question that lingers long after the final page: what lies beyond the boundary of the visible world?