1868
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Melancholy is a 1868 by Odilon Redon, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman sits alone, her head resting on one hand, eyes down. The background is dark, with faint shapes that could be mountains or shadows. Redon painted this when he was young, living near the Pyrenees. The jagged peaks he knew well show up here as ghostly outlines, making the scene feel quiet and lonely. The woman’s pose isn’t dramatic—just tired, like she’s carrying something heavy. If you like this mood, look up more works by Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916). He made a whole series about solitude.
Odilon Redon grew up near the massive Pyrénées mountains in southern France and their image recurred throughout his work. In a series of drawings made during the 1870s, Redon used the craggy surface and infinite reach of his native landscape to evoke a sense of solitude and isolation. The woman seen here, for example, leans forward and casts her eyes downward as if in resignation.
Redon incorporated fantastical details into his mountainous landscape, including a small creature seen faintly directly above the woman and a profile that vaguely appears in the shadows next to her.
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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