Parsifal 1912

Odilon Redon created this ambiguous pastel drawing of Parsifal, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. I love the way he seems to be groping for form; there's a kind of hesitant touch to the marks. It's as if he's trying to conjure the figure from a dream. Look at the materiality of the piece, the smudgy, soft texture of the pastel on paper. The colors are muted – dusky blues, yellows, and blacks – which adds to the dreamlike quality. Notice that the figure's face is softly illuminated, while the rest of the body is shrouded in darkness. This contrast draws our attention to Parsifal’s gaze, but his features remain vague and indistinct. In some ways Redon reminds me of someone like Philip Guston, in the way that he embraced weirdness, uncertainty, and open-endedness. Ultimately, it’s up to us to find our own meaning in the work.