He fixed his eyes on me with an expression that was so strange
1896
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 17 9/16 x 12 7/16 in. (44.6 x 31.6 cm) image: 9 x 6 in. (22.8 x 15.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
Accession Number
28.81.7(4)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon’s 1896 lithograph captures a haunting moment of encounter, its evocative title hinting at an unsettling gaze exchanged between human and animal. A leading figure of the Symbolist movement, Redon often explored the mysterious and the subconscious through dreamlike imagery rather than literal representation. Created late in his career, this print reflects his mature interest in psychological tension and the uncanny, rendered with the soft, velvety tones unique to lithography. The medium allowed Redon to achieve delicate gradations of light and shadow, heightening the strange intens...
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...