Pandora

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 presence, drawing the eye upward in a manner reminiscent of a devotional panel. Redon’s delicate layering of translucent color creates a dreamlike glow around the figure, transforming a classical subject into a meditation on human vulnerability. Housed in the National Gallery of Art’s Chester Dale Collection, the painting exemplifies the Symbolists’ desire to evoke mystery and emotion through suggestion rather than description, offering today’s visitors a quiet encounter with both ancient myth and modern introspection.

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...