...la Chimere aux yeux verts 1888

Editor: This is "...la Chimere aux yeux verts," a lithograph print made in 1888 by Odilon Redon, currently housed in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The image is so intensely dark and abstract that the creature almost melts into the landscape. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The dynamism between abstraction and figuration within Redon's print is a key formal element. Consider how the textured application of lithographic ink establishes the mood. There’s a deliberate interplay of light and shadow. Notice the compositional arrangement, its lines lead the eye towards the defined features of the creature. The balance is striking. Would you agree? Editor: Absolutely. The lines make the chimera distinct amidst the gloom, however I don't see its eyes anywhere. Does this monochrome pallete suggest anything symbolic? Curator: It encourages focus on texture and form. The density of black creates an evocative rather than descriptive space. Observe Redon’s engagement with Romanticism – using the materiality to invoke sensation through tonal qualities. How does that materiality affect your interpretation? Editor: It gives it a more dream-like quality; like a figment, rather than something concrete. I didn’t pick up on that before. Curator: Precisely. By moving beyond faithful reproduction through unique printing, the texture functions independently of its representational purpose. This reveals a commitment to internal feeling above objective form. Editor: So, by isolating form and texture, Redon pushes past simply depicting an image, and unlocks other methods to interpret art based on a sensory, and feeling-based experience. Curator: Precisely! And understanding this artwork through the intrinsic relationships that you articulated really underscores the power of this print, for me.