Pansies c. 1905

Odilon Redon made this still life of Pansies with pastels, and you can almost see him dabbing at the surface, building up these velvety blues and yellows, maybe reworking it, standing back, and then diving in again. I can imagine Redon, with his symbolist leanings, contemplating these blooms. Like, what did flowers even mean to him? The vase is dark and earthy, while the pansies themselves are these jewel-toned bursts. There’s a beautiful tension between the grounded container and the ephemeral life it holds, all these marks of color dancing together. And each little stroke feels so deliberate, as if Redon is trying to capture not just what he sees but what he feels, too. It makes me think about other artists, like Van Gogh, who used flowers to work through his own stuff. There’s this ongoing conversation among painters, you know, where we riff off each other, trying to get at something ineffable, and that’s the beauty of painting, isn't it? It's never really settled.