#french symbolist painter

[mythologypaintings]

Hesiod and the Muse

Artist: Gustave Moreau (French, 1826–1898)

Date: 1891

Medium: Oil on panel

Collection: Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

Hesiod

Hesiod was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.

Several of Hesiod's works have survived in their entirety. Among these are Theogony, which tells the origins of the gods, their lineages, and the events that led to Zeus's rise to power, and Works and Days, a poem that describes the five Ages of Man, offers advice and wisdom, and includes myths such as Pandora's box.

Hesiod is generally regarded by Western authors as 'the first written poet in the Western tradition to regard himself as an individual persona with an active role to play in his subject.' Ancient authors credited Hesiod and Homer with establishing Greek religious customs. Modern scholars refer to him as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought, Archaic Greek astronomy, cosmology, and ancient time-keeping.

[artemlegere]

Ophelia with a Blue Wimple in the Water

Artist: Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916) symbolist painter

Date: 1900-1905

Medium: Oil and and pastel on paper

Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Description

Around 1900 young artists exhibited at various independent societies. Les Vingt in Brussels was such an association, of which both James Ensor and Jan Toorop were members and where Redon was invited to show his work. His dreamy, visionary art is part of Symbolism. Here he depicted the fatal drowning of Ophelia, the lover of Hamlet from the Shakespearean tragedy of the same title.

[mythical-redon]

By Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916)

"Pegasus"

Love the airy colours in this! It's like an ancient tale fully coming to life. Probably my favorite depiction of this subject by Redon.

[the-cricket-chirps]

Odilon Redon

The Smiling Spider

1887

[liturgical-agenda]

Symbolist triptych, 1887 by Clément Mère

[marejadilla]

Edgard Maxence (1871 – 1954), “Young Pensive Woman Turned to the Left”,  1900, detail. French Symbolist painter.

[solcattus]

Concert of Angels, 1897

By Edgar Maxence

[kecobe]

The Mystery of the Night Alphonse Osbert (French; 1857–1939) 1897 Collection Lucile Audouy, © Thomas Hennocque

On view: Into the Dreams: Symbolism, Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund, Denmark (February 5–June 15, 2025)

[maslimanny]

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you...!!

- Ralph Waldo Emerson..!!

[mythologypaintings]

Orpheus

Artist: Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916)

Date: c. 1903-1910

Medium: Pastel on brown paper

Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Description

Drawn in vivid layers of pastel crayon, this work depicts the head of the poet and musician Orpheus. The story of the god of music, whose music carried on after his death through his lyre and head, fascinated Redon, who related to Orpheus's dedication to his art. The subject also aligned with Redon's broader interest in dreams and spirituality around this time and he represented Orpheus several times throughout his career, in various media. Here, the god's head floats as if in stasis while Mount Parnassus - the home of Apollo and the Muses - soars from behind.

Did You Know?

Another version of this pastel (now in the collection of the Musée Fabre de Montpellier) was part of a group of later works by Redon shown at the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art - better known as the Armory Show - which introduced the artist to American audiences.

[bronzewasp]

•Alphonse Osbert 1857-1939, France

[marejadilla]

"Decoration", c.1907 "Stained Glass Window (Allegory)", 1908 "Design for a Prayer Rug", 1909 "The Window", 1907

[galleryofart]

Vase of Flowers

Artist: Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916)

Date: c. 1905

Medium: Oil on fabric

Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Description

Rapturous flower still lifes like this dominated the last decade and a half of Odilon Redon’s career and provided his greatest commercial success. His interest in plants and flowers began in his youth; child of wine producers, he grew up northwest of Bordeaux and was sensitive to fluctuations in weather, light, and temperature affecting the grape harvest. When he was 20, Redon met Armond Clavaud, a botanist and draftsman who illustrated his own compendium of flowers of the Bordeaux region. Clavaud’s meticulously rendered drawings sparked the young Redon’s imagination and helped to instill his desire to paint “nature, as seen in a dream.”

[mythical-redon]

By Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916)

"Apparition"

[the-cricket-chirps]

Odilon Redon

Flowers

[mermaidenmystic]

Young Woman with Wreath of Flowers in Hair ~ 1896~ Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer (French Symbolist painter, 1865-1953)