Verzoeking van de Heilige Antonius
1888
Medium
lithography
Dimensions
140; 302; 443; 198
About this artwork
height 443 mm x width 302 mm
Art Historical Context
Odilon Redon's *Verzoeking van de Heilige Antonius* (Temptation of Saint Anthony), created in 1888, is a haunting lithograph from the French Symbolist's seminal series *Dans le rêve* (In the Dream). At a intimate scale of 198 mm high by 140 mm wide, this work captures the mystical torment of the desert hermit Saint Anthony, a subject drawn from Flaubert's 1874 novel, which inspired Redon's fantastical visions. Redon, a pioneer of Symbolism, transformed Catholic lore into a realm of subconscious reverie, blending the grotesque with the ethereal to explore human frailty and spiritual ecstasy. M...
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...