Flowers in a Pot on a Red Background 

Odilon Redon, a French artist, made this oil painting of flowers sometime in his career, which spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Redon was working at a time when the French art world was caught between academic tradition and avant-garde experimentation. Institutions such as the École des Beaux-Arts maintained a grip on artistic training and taste, but artists were increasingly looking beyond these established norms. The painting presents a modest pot of flowers against an ambiguous red backdrop. It departs from traditional still life painting with its emphasis on color and atmosphere rather than precise representation. Redon’s work, while celebrated today, received mixed reviews during his lifetime. His exploration of subjective experience challenged the prevailing emphasis on objective observation. The meaning of art, as this painting suggests, is always contingent on its social and institutional context. Researching exhibition records and critical responses can reveal how artworks like this were received and understood in their own time.