My Favorite Artists and Their Art: Odilon Redon

Odilon Redon's artwork is extraordinarily unique and hard to describe. Whether working in colorful pastels or stark charcoal drawings, the images he created are remarkably vivid and dreamlike. Shifting in styles and genres from Post-Impressionism to Symbolism, his art is saturated with an emotional intensity that seems almost prophetic of future art movements such as Expressionism and Surrealism, yet he doesn't seem to belong to any single movement. Rather, Redon's skill was transcending the boundaries of what had come before and exploring what was yet to come, all the while journeying inward to a place of psychological conflict and spiritual awakening.

The Smiling Spider (1881)

The Crying Spider (1881)

The Spirit of the Forest (1880)

The Buddha (1904)

The Flame (1896)

The Raven (1882)

Guardian Spirit of the Waters (1878)

Flower Clouds (1903)

Stained Glass Window (1908)

Portrait of Mademoiselle Jeane Roberte de Domecy (1905)

The Cyclops (1914)

Cactus Man (1881)