Title: Simone Fayet en communiante
Artist: Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916)
Medium: pastel on paper
Dimensions: 75 x 45 cm
Date Created: 1908
Description
Odilon Redon’s pastel portrait depicts Simone Fayet, daughter of Gustave Fayet, at her first communion. The young girl is rendered in profile, her expression solemn and contemplative, continuing the introspective mode Redon established in his earlier portrait of her. The artist expressed a particular affinity for depicting girls, seeing in them “the entire woman, without a woman being there,” a quality he found exquisite.
The composition is strikingly original. The figure occupies only the foreground third of the picture plane, while the remaining space is devoted to an elaborate stained-glass backdrop. This window design draws direct inspiration from the cathedral at Chartres, which Redon visited with Fayet. Elements such as the yellow-haloed figure and the central Christ motif find their sources in the cathedral’s famed glasswork. The dominant use of “Chartres blue” imbues the scene with a distinct, mystical atmosphere. Redon considered this work a significant milestone, masterfully blending the intimacy of portraiture with imaginative decorative construction.
Image Download
Image Dimensions: 2625 x 3200 pixels
Image Size: 1.48 MB
Image Format: JPG
Print Resolution: 300 dpi
Download Format: ZIP Archive
License: Public Domain, Free for Commercial Use
