Artwork
Fleurs
Fleurs is an oil painting by the Symbolist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1888 and is held in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1888, Fleurs is an oil painting by French Symbolist Odilon Redon. The work presents a modest still life: a bouquet of roses and other blossoms gathered in a teal vase, set upon a dark wooden table against a muted blue‑gray backdrop. It belongs to the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a mixed arrangement of pink, white and orange flowers, their stems and leaves rendered in soft green tones. While Redon did not attach explicit narrative to his still lifes, the delicate rendering suggests an interest in the fleeting beauty of nature and the quiet contemplation such an intimate grouping can evoke.
Technique & Style
In this work Redon employs a loose, expressive brushwork that leaves visible texture across the petals and foliage. The palette moves beyond his earlier monochrome “noirs,” embracing a gentle chromatic range that emphasizes subtle tonal shifts. The handling of paint conveys both the tactile quality of the blossoms and an atmospheric softness.
History & Provenance
Fleurs marks Redon's shift in the late 1880s from charcoal and lithography toward color media, a transition that would culminate in his extensive use of pastels and oils in the 1890s. After changing hands through private collections, the painting entered the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, where it remains on public display.
Context
The piece belongs to Redon's broader exploration of Symbolist themes, where ordinary objects become carriers of mood and inner feeling. Produced during a period when the artist was expanding his technical repertoire, the work reflects the late‑19th‑century French interest in intimate domestic subjects rendered with heightened sensitivity.
Artist & collection
Artist
Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; French: ; 20 April 1840 – 6 July 1916) was a French Symbolist draftsman, printmaker, and painter.
