Artwork
Large Vase with Flowers
Large Vase with Flowers is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Odilon Redon. It dates from 1912 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: ODILON REDON
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work focuses entirely on the floral subject, presenting the blooms as the central and sole iconographic element of the composition.
Odilon Redon's Large Vase with Flowers, painted in 1912, is a still life that depicts flowers arranged in a vase. The work focuses entirely on the floral subject, presenting the blooms as the central and sole iconographic element of the composition. While the painting captures the visual form of the flowers, the available documentation does not specify a deeper symbolic meaning or a particular allegorical representation associated with this specific arrangement.
The piece remains a straightforward celebration of floral beauty within the context of Redon's later still life works.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1912, Large Vase with Flowers is an oil painting on canvas by Odilon Redon. The work measures 73 cm in height and 54.6 cm in width, depicting a floral still life. As a painted surface on a textile support, the piece utilizes traditional materials associated with Redon's later career.
The composition focuses exclusively on the subject of flowers, consistent with the artist's genre classification for this period.
History & Provenance
Odilon Redon painted Large Vase with Flowers in 1912, an oil on canvas work measuring 73 cm by 54.6 cm. The painting entered the collection of Marcel Kapferer in Paris, who acquired it directly from the artist and retained ownership until at least 1924; the work was exhibited in Paris that year. After Kapferer's ownership, it passed to the London dealer Achim Moeller Ltd., then to New York collector John C. Whitehead, who later gifted part of the piece to the National Gallery of Art, with the remainder completed as a promised donation in 2015. The piece is now part of the National Gallery of Art's permanent collection in Washington, D.C., having come to the museum through a partial and promised gift from John C. Whitehead in 1990, completed in 2015.
Legacy
Large Vase with Flowers, painted by Odilon Redon in 1912, entered the National Gallery of Art's collection through a series of gifts that began with a partial donation in 1990 and was completed in 2015, reflecting the work's acceptance into a major U.S. museum. Its early exhibition in Paris in 1924, when it was lent by collector Marcel Kapferer, demonstrated contemporary interest and helped establish its reputation. Since entering the National Gallery, the painting has contributed to discussions of Redon's later oeuvre and reinforced the vase motif as a feature of his mature still-life practice.
Overview
Odilon Redon's painting, Large Vase with Flowers, is an oil on canvas still life created around 1912. This work presents a substantial vase overflowing with an array of vibrant blossoms. The artist's focus on the floral arrangement is evident in its prominent placement and vivid coloration, set against a subdued backdrop. It exemplifies Redon's later period, characterized by a shift towards brighter palettes and naturalistic subjects.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; French: ; 20 April 1840 – 6 July 1916) was a French Symbolist draftsman, printmaker, and painter.
