Frontispiece from Sentimental Chivalries (Chevaleries sentimentales)

Odilon Redon

1893

A small, ethereal lithograph with chine appliqué by Odilon Redon serving as a frontispiece, in which the artist evokes a contemplative, spiritual young woman to introduce a poetic, symbolist mood.

A tiny, softly shaded rectangle hovers in a vast white field, showing a profile of a woman with folded hands and a faint crown rendered in smoky, velvety tones that suggest inner light and hush.

This work exemplifies Symbolist printmaking—Redon used lithography and chine appliqué to translate introspective, dreamlike states into delicate visual atmospheres, expanding what prints could express in modern art.

Palette

Art Terms

Symbolism Lithography Chine collé Print Illustrated book Portrait Figurative

Exhibitions

Symbolism, Synthesists, and the Fin-de-Siècle

1972

Women of the Nineties: Fin-de-Siècle Prints

1979

The Prints of Odilon Redon

1986

Odilon Redon: Drawings and Lithographs

1952