Geraniums 1902

Editor: Here we have Odilon Redon’s “Geraniums,” created around 1902 using coloured pencil. It's... well, it’s quite simple, almost stark in its presentation. What do you see in this piece, beyond a pretty potted plant? Curator: I see a quiet revolution. Think about Redon’s context – a late 19th, early 20th century art world obsessed with rigid academic standards or fleeting impressions. But what does Redon give us? A commonplace object rendered with dreamlike, almost subversive softness. He’s choosing the domestic, the personal, over grand narratives. Editor: Subversive softness, I like that. The bright geraniums pop so vividly. Curator: Precisely. It’s not merely representational, is it? It speaks to a deeply interior experience. The choice of colored pencil adds to that intimacy; it feels like a whispered secret compared to the bold pronouncements of oil paint. How might we connect this to societal expectations around, say, femininity, during this era? Editor: It's almost like elevating the everyday domestic scene, things women were often confined to... giving them significance, saying they matter? Curator: Exactly. And what does it mean to find power in these spaces, in these “minor” subjects? Redon is challenging hierarchies of value. He invites us to find beauty and perhaps resistance, in the unassuming. Editor: I never would have looked at a drawing of geraniums and thought about resistance before. Curator: That’s the power of art, isn’t it? To reveal the hidden layers of meaning beneath the surface. Redon encourages us to challenge assumptions and consider the narratives we often overlook. Editor: This piece makes so much more sense now; thanks for shedding new light.