The Shadow (L'Ombre)

1896-1900

Odilon Redon

Associated Names
Odilon Redon

Artist, French, 1840 - 1916

The image shows flowing lines forming an abstract composition with an outline of a human profile. The shapes and lines intertwine, suggesting a wavy, water-like effect surrounding the figure. The central shape resembles a woman's face in profile, with contours suggesting hair or a hood draped over her head. The abstract design evokes the emergence of familiar elements within dynamic lines.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    brush and black ink on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Woodner Collection, Gift of Dian Woodner

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 31.12 × 23.81 cm (12 1/4 × 9 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2014.137.12

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Wildenstein vol. 1, no. 223

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, Kornfield and Klipstein, Bern, 13-15 June 1974, lot 1088, bought in). (Galerie Kornfeld, Bern); purchased April 18, 1985 by Ian Woodner, New York [1903-1990]; by inheritance to his daughter Dian Woodner, New York, 1990; gift to NGA, 2014.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1983

  • Odilon Redon, Kunstmuseum, Winterthur, 1983, pg. 91.

1985

  • Odilon Redon: Ian Woodner Collection, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1985, no. 40.

1986

  • Odilon Redon, 1840-1916: Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Ian Woodner, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, 1986, pg. 109.

1988

  • Odilon Redon: The Woodner Collection, The Phillips Collection, Washington, 1988, no. 70.

1989

  • Odilon Redon, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1989, no. 198-g.

  • Odilon Redon (1840 - 1916): La colleció Ian Woodner, Fundación Juan March, Barcelona, 1989, no. 93.

1990

  • Odilon Redon: Colección Ian Woodner, Fundación Juan March, Madrid, 1990, no. 101.

  • Odilon Redon: The Ian Woodner Family Collection, The Dixon Art Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, 1990, no. 94.

Bibliography

1983

  • Odilon Redon. Exh. cat. Kunstmuseum, Winterthur, 1983, pg. 91.

1985

  • Adams, Brooke. Odilon Redon: Ian Woodner Collection. Exh. cat. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1985: no. 40.

1986

  • Huyghe, René. Odilon Redon, 1840 - 1916: Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Ian Woodner. Exh. cat. Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, 1986, pg. 109.

1988

  • Gowing, Lawrence. Odilon Redon: The Woodner Collection. Exh. cat. The Phillips Collection, Washington, 1988: no. 70.

1989

  • Gowing, Lawrence. Odilon Redon (1840 - 1916): La colleció Ian Woodner. Exh. cat. Fundación Juan March, Barcelona, 1989: no. 93.

  • Odilon Redon. Exh. cat. The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1989: no. 198-g.

1990

  • Gowing, Lawrence. Odilon Redon: Colección Ian Woodner. Exh. cat. Fundación Juan March, Madrid, 1990: no. 101.

  • Wildenstein, Daniel and Alec. Odilon Redon: The Ian Woodner Family Collection. Exh. cat. The Dixon Art Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, 1990: no. 94.

1992

  • Wildenstein, Alec. Odilon Redon, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné. 4 vols. Paris, 1992-98, vol. 1: no. 223.

Inscriptions

lower left in image in ink: O.R.; lower center verso in graphite: [?] l'hombre

Wikidata ID

Q64618533

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