Hallucinations
n.d.
Medium
Charcoal on tan paper
Dimensions
image: 11 5/8 x 9 5/16 in. (29.5 x 23.7 cm) mount: 14 3/4 x 11 5/8 in. (37.5 x 29.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982
Accession Number
1984.433.285
Tags
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon’s *Hallucinations* exemplifies the artist’s celebrated “noir” drawings, created with charcoal on tan paper to produce haunting, atmospheric effects. A leading figure of the Symbolist movement in late nineteenth-century France, Redon explored the mysteries of the human psyche rather than observable reality. Here, the medium’s velvety blacks and subtle gradations allow faces to emerge and dissolve, suggesting fleeting visions or dreamlike states that invite viewers to confront the irrational. The work’s title and prominent facial imagery reflect Redon’s fascination with altered per...
About the Artist
Odilon Redon · 1840–1916
Odilon Redon (1840-1916) was a French Symbolist painter, printmaker, and pastellist whose visionary art bridged the 19th-century Symbolist movement and 20th-century Surrealism. Born Bertrand Redon in Bordeaux on April 20, 1840, he earned the nickname "Odilon" from his mother Odile. His father, who made his fortune in the Louisiana slave trade, conceived Odilon in New Orleans before the family retu...