Le Mort- non ironie dépasse toutes les autres! 1889

Odilon Redon created this lithograph, titled "Le Mort- non ironie dépasse toutes les autres!" using ink on paper. The artwork is concerned with ideas about death, but as the title suggests, it rejects the idea that death is ironic. Redon was part of a movement that explored dreams and the subconscious, often responding against the dominant trends of realism and impressionism in France during the late 19th century. The image creates meaning through visual codes that would have been understood by Redon’s contemporaries. Here, we see darkness and a figure that seems to be emerging from it. This visual language is a cultural reference to a world beyond the visible. This suggests the influence of religion and spiritualism, as well as contemporary philosophical and artistic movements. Redon’s work invites a challenge to the naturalistic conventions encouraged by academic institutions of art. To understand this piece better, we might research the philosophical and religious ideas of the time, as well as the artistic movements that Redon was associated with. Remember, the meaning of art is always tied to its social and institutional context.