A Strange Juggler, plate 5 from Homage to Goya 1885

Odilon Redon made this lithograph, A Strange Juggler, as part of his Homage to Goya series using a printing process that relies on the inherent properties of limestone. The artist draws on the stone with a greasy crayon, then treats the surface so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas, allowing for a near infinite number of reproductions. Redon’s choice of lithography is significant. Unlike painting, which produces a unique object, printmaking is inherently reproducible, aligning it with the burgeoning industrial age and its emphasis on mass production. The image itself, with its unsettling figure and dreamlike imagery, reflects the anxieties of a society grappling with rapid change. The juggler, a figure of entertainment, appears burdened, his act seemingly joyless. By embracing lithography, Redon engages with the democratization of art, making his work accessible to a wider audience. The labor-intensive process of printmaking, from the grinding of the limestone to the meticulous inking and printing, underscores the value of skilled work, even as it flirts with the possibilities of mechanical reproduction. It challenges the traditional hierarchy between fine art and craft.