The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

The Marsh Flower, a Sad Human Head

The Marsh Flower, a Sad Human Head

1885
(French, 1840–1916)
France, 19th century
lithograph on China paper laid on wove paper
Image: 27.5 x 20.5 cm (10 13/16 x 8 1/16 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1927.344.2
Catalogue raisonné: Mellerio 55
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This portfolio was published in an edition of 50, one of which Redon sent to poet Stéphane Mallarmé soon after Redon became a frequent participant in a literary salon held regularly at Mallarmé's home.

Description

This series is one of many that Odilon Redon created throughout his career. Nearly two-thirds of his lithographs took the form of portfolios—prints connected conceptually by a theme or narrative and physically by a folder or binding. Such works were often dispersed over time, but Cleveland was fortunate to acquire several complete sets with their original covers during the 1920s. Dating from Redon’s early experimentation with lithography, Homage to Goya was intended as a tribute to 18th-century Spanish master Francisco de Goya, whose interest in dreams and the subconscious influenced Redon. The six seemingly unrelated images celebrate Goya’s ambiguity and collectively suggest the introspection and isolation of artistic practice.
  • ?-1927
    (Maurice Le Garrec, Paris, sold to the Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH)
    1927
    The Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1927-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Voigt, Kirsten Claudia, Leonie Beiersdorf, and Pia Müller-Tamm. Inventing nature: Pflanzen in der Kunst. Karlsruhe: Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe; Köln: Snoeck, 2021. Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 70-71, abb. 3
    Basch, Sophie. Le Japonisme, Un Art Français. Œuvres En Sociétés. Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2022. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 157-159, fig. 83
  • Collecting Dreams: Odilon Redon. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19, 2021-January 23, 2022).
    Symbolist Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1991-January 12, 1992).
    Odilon Redon: Dream Creatures and Anemones. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 21-October 14, 1984).
  • {{cite web|title=The Marsh Flower, a Sad Human Head|url=false|author=Odilon Redon, Lemercier & Cie.|year=1885|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1927.344.2