The Celestial Art
1894
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 16 15/16 x 13 7/8 in. (43 x 35.2 cm) image: 12 3/8 x 10 1/16 in. (31.5 x 25.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of A. W. Bahr, 1958
Accession Number
58.547.26
Tags
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon’s 1894 lithograph *The Celestial Art* captures the artist’s signature Symbolist vision through its ethereal depiction of angels and musical motifs. Working in the late century, Redon often explored themes of dreams, spirituality, and the unseen world, moving beyond the realism of his contemporaries to evoke mystery and emotion. Here, the delicate profiles of angels intertwined with violins suggest a harmonious, otherworldly realm where music becomes a bridge between the earthly and the divine. As a lithograph, the work highlights Redon’s mastery of printmaking, a medium he embrac...
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...