Saint-Antoine: Il doit y avoir quelque part des figures primordiales dont les corps ne sont que les images (Saint Anthony: "Somewhere there must be primordial shapes whose bodiesare only images")

Art Historical Context

Odilon Redon's *Saint-Antoine* (1889), a haunting lithograph from his acclaimed series inspired by Gustave Flaubert's *Theation of Saint Anthony*, captures the mystic's visionary reverie. Here, Saint Anthony muses on "primordial shapes whose bodies are only images," evoking ethereal, otherworldly forms that blur the line between reality and dream. Created during Redon's "Noirs" period (1870s–1890s), when he mastered black-and-white media, this print reflects Symbolism's fascination with the subconscious, spirituality, and the unseen forces of the imagination—movements that challenged the era's...

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...