Centaurs 1910

Odilon Redon painted ‘Centaurs’ with oils, at an unknown date. Isn't it fascinating how he creates such a dreamlike atmosphere, just by layering and blurring the colors? Look closely, and you'll notice how the brushstrokes almost dissolve into one another, the browns and blues are so thick, they seem to breath. There's a real tension between the clarity of form, we can clearly see centaurs, and the almost abstract way the paint is applied. Do you see how he uses these little dabs of contrasting colors, like pinks and yellows, to make the whole thing vibrate? It's as if he's not just painting what he sees, but also what he feels. Redon reminds me of late Turner, especially in his use of color to evoke mood and emotion. Both artists invite us to wander into a world of imagination, where nothing is quite as it seems.