Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

Flower Clouds

Pastel drawing of two figures in a sailboat, bright multi-colored clouds.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • Pastel drawing of two figures in a sailboat, bright multi-colored clouds.

Date:

c. 1903

Artist:

Odilon Redon
French, 1840-1916

About this artwork

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 1890s, Redon discovered the marvels of color through the use of pastel. His immersion in color and this new technique brought about a change in the artist’s approach to his subject matter as well. Flower Clouds is one of a number of pastels executed around 1905 that are dominated by spiritual overtones. Here a sailboat bears two figures, perhaps two saintly women, on a timeless journey through a fantastic, phosphorescent sea and sky. The dreamlike skiff may reflect Redon’s internal voyage, replacing the nocturnal turmoil of the earlier Noirs with a more hopeful vision. The luminous intensity of the pastels echoes the ardent spirituality of the theme.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Odilon Redon

Title

Flower Clouds

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1898–1908

Medium

Pastel, with touches of stumping, incising, and brushwork, on blue-gray wove paper with multi-colored fibers altered to tan, perimeter mounted to cardboard

Inscriptions

Signed lower left, in black conté crayon: "ODILON REDON"

Dimensions

44.5 × 54.2 cm (17 9/16 × 21 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Through prior bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

Reference Number

1990.165

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/76395/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share