1885
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
A Madman in a Dismal Landscape is a 1885 by Odilon Redon, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a lone figure hunched in a dark, jagged landscape, his face twisted in fear or sorrow. Redon made this print in the 1880s, part of a series inspired by Goya’s nightmarish visions. He used soft, smoky shading to blur edges—no sharp lines, just mood. The man could be anyone: a dreamer, a prisoner, or just a mind lost in its own shadows. If you like this eerie feel, look up the technique called *sfumato*.
This series is one of many that Odilon Redon created throughout his career. Nearly two-thirds of his lithographs took the form of portfolios—prints connected conceptually by a theme or narrative and physically by a folder or binding. Such works were often dispersed over time, but Cleveland was fortunate to acquire several complete sets with their original covers during the 1920s. Dating from Redon’s early experimentation with lithography, Homage to Goya was intended as a tribute to 18th-century Spanish master Francisco de Goya, whose interest in dreams and the subconscious influenced Redon.…
This portfolio was published in an edition of 50, one of which Redon sent to poet Stéphane Mallarmé soon after Redon became a frequent participant in a literary salon held regularly at Mallarmé's home.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Born Bertrand-Jean Redon on 20 April 1840 in Bordeaux, the artist adopted the name Odilon from his mother, Marie-Odile.
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