For my research point I was asked to look at Odilon Redon’s Two trees 1875 (charcoal on paper). I was asked to note the artists expressive use of tone, blocks of sharp charcoal in sharp contrast to expanses of light and then the smaller details, lines and spots that pull the image together as an ambient scene.

I was also asked to research more of Redons work and to discuss the atmospheric potential of tone.

Odilon Redon (born in 1840) was a French Symbolist painter who was also known for his drawings with graphite and charcoal.

I decided to look at ‘Woman with an outstretched arm 1868’ the materials used were graphite on ivory wove paper. This work shows a partially naked woman sitting on a rock whilst stretching out her arm, she appears to be sheltered by another larger rock, the background either depicts a really moody sky or a rough sea.

I find this work enchanting I love the sensitivity of his tonal marks and how my eye is drawn to the woman from the very dark tones above her. I find Redons use of dark and light captivating in this piece and how my eye is forced to travel around the page. The mood is dark, and the atmosphere makes me feel lonely and cold. It is incredible how a piece of graphite can create these incredible tones that are able to make me the viewer feel so heavy inside.

The next piece of work I looked at was called ‘The crying spider’ I picked this work as it contrasts so much with the other two pieces I have looked at. It is an image of what looks like a giant spiders body but with 12 hairy legs. Placed on its body is a male human head who appears to be crying. I can’t say I ‘like’ this work as I think it is horrible. However I am in complete awe of the dark mood it portrays. It has been drawn with charcoal and I think Redons use of tone and texture is spectacular. His use of the dark tones of the spiders body contrasted again the much lighter background really emphasises it somber mood, and the small hatching lines of hair on the spiders leg against the pale background emphasises the eeriness of the work. This dark somber fantastical creature makes me think of a nightmare, but equally the pain in this creatures face makes me feel great pity and loss. The background just adds to this feeling with the dark rough texture around the edges reinforcing the light space around the creature.

I hope that as my drawing improves that I can start to portray some sort of mood and feeling into my own work.

Bibliograpy:

Wikipedia. (2019) Odilon Redon
At: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odilon_Redon (Accessed 17/04/2019).

Gorlinkski, V. (2019) Odilon Redon
At: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Odilon-Redon (Accessed 17/04/2019).

Moma. (2019) Odilon Redon: French 1840-1916
At: https://www.moma.org/artists/4840 (Accessed 17/04/2019).