Artwork Page for Christ

Details / Information for Christ

Christ

1887

Odilon Redon

(French, 1840–1916)
printer

Lemercier & Cie.

Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
lithograph
Measurements
Sheet: 42.9 x 36.1 cm (16 7/8 x 14 3/16 in.); Image: 33.4 x 27.3 cm (13 1/8 x 10 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1956.298
Catalogue raisonné
Mellerio 71
State
II/II
Edition
edition of 25
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Odilon Redon believed that black was an agent of the spirit and created nearly 200 monochromatic lithographs that evoke a mysterious and dreamlike world.

Description

Odilon Redon's unusual depiction of a melancholy, beardless Christ uses the dramatic tonality of lithography to convey the figure's suffering. Redon drew parallel lines with a lithographic crayon and then scraped some of the material away to depict the angular forms of an oversized crown of thorns and the surrounding dreamlike space. Redon experimented with lithography and preferred it for its ability to produce the rich and evocative black seen here.
A vertically oriented lithograph in black ink depicts Christ with a light skin tone, his head tilting toward our right. A crown of sharp thorns protrudes from his dark hair. His wide eyes look upward toward our left beneath a furrowed brow. Dark creases and dense hatching cover his face. He emerges from a dark, textured background, creating a strong contrast between deep shadows and bright light.

Christ

1887

Odilon Redon, Lemercier & Cie.

(French, 1840–1916)
France, 19th century

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