And There Fell a Great Star from Heaven, Burning as it were a Lamp
1899
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1899
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A dark sky splits open, letting a flaming star streak down like a falling torch. Below, a few bare trees stand in a shadowy field. Redon made this print to match a line in the Bible’s Book of Revelation. He wasn’t usually this literal—most of his work feels like a dream. Here, he follows the text almost word for word, which makes the image feel stranger, not clearer. If you like the way Redon mixes dreams and scripture, look up sfumato. It’s the soft, smoky shading he borrowed from older artists to blur edges and make the scene feel unreal.
