Portrait of Paule Gobillard 1900

Odilon Redon made this pastel portrait of Paule Gobillard in France at the turn of the 20th century. Redon was working at a time when artists were thinking about how to represent the inner lives of their subjects, not just their outward appearances. This image creates meaning through soft lines and muted colors, suggesting a quiet interiority. Consider the institutional history of portraiture at this time, and especially the pressures on women. For many years, the public role of women was limited, and so portraiture often emphasized their domestic roles or their beauty. Redon pushes back on those expectations and invites us to see the sitter as an individual. To understand this work better, we can look at the artist’s biography, the history of portraiture, and the social conditions of women at the time it was made. Art history shows us that meaning is always contingent on social and institutional context.