Closed Eyes 1895

Curator: Odilon Redon’s "Closed Eyes," created in 1895, presents an ethereal nude in a state of serene contemplation. Editor: It feels incredibly dreamy, almost melancholic. The deep blues contrasted with those soft pinks and oranges... it evokes a sense of interiority and introspection. Curator: Precisely. Redon uses color and form not to represent external reality but to manifest the realm of the psyche. Note the almost indistinct merging of the figure with the vibrant, abstract background. Semiotically, the closed eyes signal a withdrawal from the empirical world and an entry into a subjective, symbolic space. Editor: Right, and looking closely, the medium itself – perhaps oil pastel? – lends itself to this effect. You see the visible texture, the layers building up. It’s not about smooth illusionism. Redon’s process is very apparent; the hand of the artist is undeniable. Consider, also, how the materiality speaks to Redon’s Symbolist inclinations, which rejected industrial mass production. Curator: Indeed. His mark-making allows for a non-narrative reading; it encourages a free association between form, color, and subjective response. We are looking at the raw construction of feeling itself, not the rendering of a physical person. Editor: It does raise the question: what labour was involved to build that kind of atmospheric effect, you know? What was Redon feeling when he layered those colors together so intentionally. The facture and the colors—they all combine to create something intangible. Curator: Ultimately, it's this fusion of the concrete with the abstract that makes Redon such a pivotal figure in Symbolist art and continues to invite subjective reflection. Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about how these pastel marks embody an artist's process really opens this piece up in an emotional way. It makes one contemplate labor’s artistic importance in conveying an experience of tranquility, while subtly provoking unease.