Adverse Glory
1886
Medium
Etching and drypoint on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 9 × 4.5 cm (3 9/16 × 1 13/16 in.); Plate: 12.2 × 6 cm (4 13/16 × 2 3/8 in.); Sheet: 35.3 × 24.5 cm (13 15/16 × 9 11/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
79263
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon's *Adverse Glory* (6) is a haunting gem from the Symbolist master's "Noir" period, when he crafted intricate black-and-white prints evoking dreams, mystery, and the subconscious. etching and drypoint on ivory laid paper captures Redon's fascination with the fantastical and macabre, themes that defined late 19th-century Symbolism as an antidote to realism's starkness. Produced during a prolific phase of graphic work, it reflects the era's fin-de-siècle mood, blending poetic ambiguity with psychological depth. The technique shines in its intimate scale—image just 9 × 4.5 cm—invitin...
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...