Title: Le cauchemar (Les trois masques ou Vision ou Origines)
Artist: Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916)
Medium: fusain sur papier ocre
Dimensions: 45.9 x 36.4 cm
Date Created: 1881
Description
Executed in 1881, Le Cauchemar (The Nightmare) stands as a quintessential example of Odilon Redon’s enigmatic vision. Largely misunderstood by his contemporaries, the artist would later be revered by the Nabis, the Fauves, and the Surrealists. This work belongs to his most mysterious series of charcoal drawings, the ‘Noirs’, begun around 1870. It vividly illustrates Redon’s pursuit of spatial incoherence and instability. The writer Émile Hennequin, a friend of the artist, described it in the Revue littéraire et artistique (March 4, 1882), linking it to a verse from Edgar Allan Poe. Its distinguished provenance, including the collections of Ren Philippon and Gustave Fayet, alongside Redon’s own desire to repurchase it for his personal collection, underscores the work’s singular importance within his oeuvre.
Image Download
Image Dimensions: 2519 x 3200 pixels
Image Size: 745 KB
Image Format: JPG
Print Resolution: 300 dpi
Download Format: ZIP Archive
License: Public Domain, Free for Commercial Use
