Head of a Young Woman in Profile 1895

Odilon Redon made this "Head of a Young Woman in Profile" with pastel, a material he favored for its immediacy. Pastels are pure pigment, bound loosely together with a bit of gum or resin. They have a directness that oil paint can’t match. Look closely, and you can see the individual strokes, the layering of color that builds up the form. The very character of pastel allows for softness and light. It invites the viewer to share a fleeting moment, a glimpse of the subject’s inner state. Redon isn't just showing us what she looks like, but evoking a feeling, a mood. Think about the way the pastel sits on the surface of the paper, almost like a veil. In the hands of a master like Redon, a humble material like pastel becomes a vehicle for expressing profound emotion, and it calls into question our assumptions about the status of different art forms.