Paul Sérusier
1903
Medium
Lithograph in black on light gray China paper laid down on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 16 × 13.5 cm (6 5/16 × 5 3/8 in.); Chine: 20.8 × 16.4 cm (8 1/4 × 6 1/2 in.); Sheet: 42.2 × 32.5 cm (16 5/8 × 12 13/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
79775
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
This 1903 lithograph by Odilon Redon offers a striking portrait of Paul Sérusier, capturing the essence of an artist who helped shape the N movement and Post-Impressionist circles. Rendered in black ink on light gray China paper laid onto white wove paper, the intimate scale of the image—just 16 by 13.5 centimeters—invites close viewing, revealing Redon’s delicate handling of line and shadow to convey personality and presence. Lithography held special importance at the turn of the twentieth century, allowing artists to reach wider audiences through affordable, high-quality prints while preserving the spontaneity of drawing. Redon, celebrated for his graphic work, used the medium here to honor a contemporary, blending portraiture with his signature atmospheric sensibility. Now part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, the piece quietly documents the creative networks that defined modern art in France. Its refined technique and modest size remind visitors how printmaking served both personal tribute and broader cultural exchange.
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...