Evocation of Roussel

c. 1912

Odilon Redon

Artist, French, 1840 - 1916

A balding man with peach-colored skin and a drooping white mustache is surrounded by flowers floating in a blue sky with apricot-colored clouds in this vertical painting. He is shown from the waist up facing us at the bottom center. He seems to wear a midnight blue tunic over a white shirt, but his clothing is loosely painted. He looks down to our right, and his head is surrounded by an area of brownish gold to create a halo-like effect. Upon closer inspection, the peach clouds turn out to be areas of bare canvas. A sunflower, orange flowers, and a cluster of white and red flowers float in the space around the man. Some areas are thinly painted, and strokes are visible throughout.

Media Options

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On View

East Building Ground Level, Gallery 103-D

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 73 x 54 cm (28 3/4 x 21 1/4 in.)
    framed: 90.5 x 71.8 cm (35 5/8 x 28 1/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.203

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Jos Hessel, Paris), in 1913.[1] Raoul Pellequer, Paris; (his sale, Paris, 29 October 1927, no. 118); purchased by (Galerie Étienne Bignou, Paris) for Chester Dale [1882-1962], New York;[2] bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] Lent by Hessel to the 1913 Armory show, as Veillard and offered for sale there (See Archives of American Art, Walt Kuhn Family Papers and Armory Show Records, 1.3 European Entry Cards and 1.4 Notes).
[2] Provenance according to Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1913

  • International Exhibition of Modern Art [The Armory Show], Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Armory of the Sixty-Ninth Infantry, New York, 1913, no. 284; Art Institute of Chicago, no. 313; Copley Society of Boston, Copley Hall, no. 164.

1928

  • Odilon Redon, De Hauke & Co., New York, 1928, no. 14

1929

  • Paintings, Pastels and Drawings by Odilon Redon, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1928-1929

1930

  • "La Nature Morte" from Chardin to the Abstract. Wildenstein Galleries, New York, 1930, no. 6

1937

  • Exhibition of French Painting, Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1937, no cat.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

Bibliography

1929

  • Dale, Maud. Before Manet to Modigliani from the Chester Dale Collection. New York, 1929: no. 69, repro.

1942

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 82, repro.

1944

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 82, repro.

1953

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 91, repro.

1962

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 176, color repro.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 327, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 108.

  • Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 136, repro.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:464, color repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 96, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 282, repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 515, no. 774, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 328, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: ODILON REDON

Wikidata ID

Q20191637

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