Orpheus
Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916)
c. 1903–10
- Medium
- pastel on brown paper
- Classification
- Drawing
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 68.8 x 56.8 cm (27 1/16 x 22 3/8 in.)
- Culture
- France
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Drawings
- Credit line
- Gift from J. H. Wade
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Drawn in vivid layers of pastel crayon, this work depicts the head of the poet and musician Orpheus. The story of the god of music, whose music carried on after his death through his lyre and head, fascinated Redon, who related to Orpheus's dedication to his art. The subject also aligned with Redon's broader interest in dreams and spirituality around this time and he represented Orpheus several times throughout his career, in various media. Here, the god's head floats as if in stasis while Mount Parnassus—the home of Apollo and the Muses—soars from behind.
