Béatrice
1897
Medium
Lithograph in yellow, green, and blue on cream China paper laid down on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image/chine: 33.6 × 29.6 cm (13 1/4 × 11 11/16 in.); Sheet: 53.5 × 43 cm (21 1/8 × 16 15/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
75999
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon's *Béatrice* (1897) is a captivating color lithograph that exemplifies the artist's shift from his earlier monochromatic "Noirs" to vibrant, dreamlike visions in the Symbolist tradition. Created during the fin-de-siècle era, when Symbolism sought to evoke mystery, spirituality, and the subconscious, Redon drew inspiration from literary muses like Dante's Beatrice—here rendered as an ethereal female figure amid swirling, otherworldly forms. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, this work measures 33.6 × 29.6 cm on delicate cream China paper, laid ...
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...