Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00000290Orpheus
by Odilon Redon
About the Artwork
Drawn in vivid layers of pastel crayon, this work depicts the head of the poet and musician Orpheus. The story of the god of music, whose music carried on after his death through his lyre and head, fascinated Redon, who related to Orpheus's dedication to his art. The subject also aligned with Redon's broader interest in dreams and spirituality around this time and he represented Orpheus several times throughout his career, in various media. Here, the god's head floats as if in stasis while Mount Parnassus—the home of Apollo and the Muses—soars from behind.
Inscriptions
inscribed, lower left, in black pastel: ODILON REDON
Provenance
after 1903-1910: purchased by Henri Matisse [1869–1954] for his father, Émile Hippolyte Matisse [1840–1910] ? - by 1915: Wilhelm Uhde [1874-1947], Paris 1915 - 1917: (Carroll Galleries, New York, sold to John Quinn, New York) 1917-1924: John Quinn [1870-1924], New York, purchased from his estate by the Cleveland Museum of Art through Joseph Brummer
Exhibition history
Fifty Years of French Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 29-November 29, 1926). French Art Since Eighteen Hundred. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 8-December 8, 1929). The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Expressionism and Related Movements. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 26-February 28, 1939). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 6-February 15, 1942). 19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943). Odilon Redon (1840-1916): Pastels and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 29, 1951-January 20, 1952); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN (February 1-March 1, 1952). Fifty Years of Modern Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 15-July 31, 1966). Odilon Redon: Dream Creatures and Anemones. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 21-October 14, 1984). Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987). La Reverie Esthetique: Symbolist Works on Paper. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (March 29-May 22, 1988). Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991). Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000). Masterworks from The Phillips Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-May 29, 2005). Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008). Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015). Pure Color: Pastels from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 19, 2016-March 19, 2017). Collecting Dreams: Odilon Redon. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19, 2021-January 23, 2022). Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 20-June 11, 2023).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916)
- Date
- c. 1903–10
- Medium
- pastel on brown paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 68.8 x 56.8 cm (27 1/16 x 22 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Gift from J. H. Wade
- Accession no.
- 1926.25
More by Odilon Redon in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00000290
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