Sciapode
1892
Medium
Etching and drypoint with plate tone on heavy cream wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 19.3 × 14.2 cm (7 5/8 × 5 5/8 in.); Plate: 20 × 15 cm (7 7/8 × 5 15/16 in.); Sheet: 35.5 × 30.2 cm (14 × 11 15/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
79287
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
In this, a single elongated form dominates the vertical composition, suspended against a softly textured, atmospheric ground. The creature tapers from a broad, shadowy tail at the top into a human face at the bottom, its large eyes and parted lips emerging from deep blacks and velvety grays. Fine lines and tonal washes, achieved through etching and drypoint with plate tone on cream wove paper, give the figure a weightless, almost floating quality that seems to hover between solid form and vaporous suggestion. Odilon Redon created *Sciapode* in 1892, during the height of his printmaking career. The work reflects his Symbolist interest in the imaginary and the subconscious, where strange hybrid beings invite quiet contemplation rather than literal interpretation. Through the intimate scale and rich tonal range of etching, Redon transforms a simple plate into an evocative encounter with the uncanny, encouraging viewers to linger with the image’s mystery and emotional resonance.
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...