Pandora
1910/1912
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 143.5 x 62.9 cm (56 1/2 x 24 3/4 in.) framed: 161.9 x 81 cm (63 3/4 x 31 7/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Chester Dale Collection
Accession Number
1963.10.56
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon’s *Pandora*, painted in oil on canvas between 1910 and 1912, captures the mythic figure at the moment she receives the fateful box. Created late in the artist’s career, the work reflects Redon’s shift from the charcoal “noirs” of his early years to luminous color. As a leading figure of the Symbolist movement, Redon used veiled imagery and rich hues to suggest inner states rather than literal narrative, inviting viewers to ponder themes of curiosity, innocence, and consequence. The tall, narrow format—over five feet high yet barely two feet wide—emphasizes Pandora’s ethereal pres...
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...