Quasimodo

c. 1875–80
(French, 1840–1916)
Sheet: 36.8 x 32.9 cm (14 1/2 x 12 15/16 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Wildenstein 2639
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

Victor Hugo, the author who inspired this drawing’s subject, also made drawings with black materials inspired by his own imagination, much like Redon’s own work.

Description

The nineteenth-century French artist Odilon Redon was known for works defined by their darkness—both the black materials he used and the mood of his fantastical themes. This drawing depicts Quasimodo, the protagonist of Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but does not directly relate to the text. Redon layered and rubbed away charcoal marks to create the indeterminate space behind the pair.
Quasimodo

Quasimodo

c. 1875–80

Odilon Redon

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

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Nineteenth-Century French Drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Nineteenth-Century French Drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art
By Britany Salsbury, Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings, The Cleveland Museum of Art. Drawing transformed radically in 19th-century France, expanding from a means of artistic training to an independent medium with rich potential for exploration and experimentation. A variety of materials became available to artists—such as commercially fabricated chalks, pastels, and specialty papers— encouraging figures ranging from Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres to Paul Cezanne to reconsider the place of drawing within their artistic practices. A growing number of public and private exhibition venues began to feature their creations, building an audience attracted by the intimacy of drawings and their unique techniques and subjects. In France and abroad, museums and individuals alike started to actively acquire these works while they were still contemporary art. Nineteenth-Century French Drawings at the Cleveland Museum of Art examines the history of this medium, from preparatory graphite sketches to pastels finished for public display. The publication chronicles the remarkable role that drawings—a cornerstone of the museum’s collection since its opening in 1916—have played throughout the institution’s history. Entries provide insight into nearly 50 artists and the place of drawing within their work, while five essays by leading scholars in the field present new research on the making and collecting of drawings in France during this extraordinary period. Published 2023200 pages with 148 images

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