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Symbolic Head
Odilon Redonc. 1890
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
One of Redon’s favorite themes was a head depicted in profile, sometimes separated from the body to symbolize the spirit released from the material world. It also suggests a metaphor for abandoning physical reality for the inner realm of dreams, fantasy, and poetic reverie. This painting conveys the idea of inward-turning vision by framing the head in a series of collapsing rectangles. Conservation analysis confirms that the figure is a woman wearing a helmet and holding a green staff in her right hand.
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Details
- Title: Symbolic Head
- Creator: Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916)
- Date Created: c. 1890
- Physical Dimensions: Framed: 69 x 54.5 x 7.5 cm (27 3/16 x 21 7/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 53.3 x 38 cm (21 x 14 15/16 in.)
- Provenance: Possibly Gustave Fayet [1865-1925], Béziers, (Jacques Dubourg [1897-1981], Paris, sold to Knoedler & Co.), (Knoedler & Co., New York, sold to Mildred Andrews Putnam), Mildred Andrews Putnam [1890/92-1984], Cleveland, OH, by descent to her son, Peter Andrews Putnam, Peter Andrews Putnam [1925-1987], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1988.91
- Medium: oil on paper mounted on canvas
- Inscriptions: Signed lower left: odilon redon
- Fun Fact: Symbolism was a reaction against Realism and Redon is one of the most important artists affiliated with this movement. The symbolist painters used mystical dreamlike images that were highly personal in their work.
- Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Culture: France, 19th century
- Credit Line: Gift of the Mildred Andrews Fund
- Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
- Accession Number: 1988.91
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