Pegasus and Bellerophon
ca. 1888
Medium
Charcoal, charcoal with water wash, white chalk, conté crayon, and highlighting by erasure on buff papier bleuté, darkened.
Dimensions
21 1/8 × 14 3/16 in. (53.7 × 36.1 cm) Framed: 31 × 25 in. (78.7 × 63.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.686
Tags
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon's *Pegasus and Beller* (ca. 1888) captures a mythical moment from Greek legend, where the hero Bellerophon rides the horse Pegasus, symbolizing triumph over chaos. Created during Redon's "Noirs" period—the artist's early mastery of brooding, monochromatic drawings—this work exemplifies French Symbolism. Redon (1840–1916), a visionary who shunned Impressionism's bright exteriors for inner dreams, infused mythology with ethereal mystery, bridging Romanticism and the fantastical visions that later bloomed in his color pastels. Rendered on buff papier bleuté (blue-tinted paper), the ...
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...