1883
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Le Polype difforme flottait sur les rivages, sorte de cyclope souriant et hideux (The deformed polyp floated on the shores, a sort of smiling and hideous Cyclops) is a 1883 ink by Odilon Redon, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This drawing shows a strange, hairy face with one big eye and a small smile. The fur looks wild and tangled, almost like seaweed or tangled roots. The background is blurry, with faint shapes that look like rocks or waves. The title calls it a "smiling and hideous Cyclops," which makes the face seem like a mix of monster and something almost friendly. The artist used a printmaking method to create this eerie, dreamy look. If you like this, check out lithography to see how artists make prints like this.
Born Bertrand-Jean Redon on 20 April 1840 in Bordeaux, the artist adopted the name Odilon from his mother, Marie-Odile.
See the richer artist page
