And the Searcher was Engaged in an Infinite Search - Odilon Redon
Archival giclée
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Description
A haunting lithograph from Odilon Redon's 1896 series, depicting a solitary figure in a moment of quiet, cosmic contemplation.
This lithograph, titled 'And the Searcher was Engaged in an Infinite Search' (et le chercheur était à la RECHERCHE INFINIE), is the sixth plate from the portfolio 'La Tentation de Saint Antoine' (The Temptation of Saint Anthony), published in 1896. Odilon Redon, a central figure in the Symbolist movement, produced this work during a period when he moved away from his earlier 'noirs' to explore more ethereal subjects, though this piece retains the deep, velvety blacks characteristic of his earlier charcoal drawings.
The composition depicts a solitary, contemplative figure leaning over a large, chalice-like vessel. The atmosphere is heavy with mystery, typical of Redon's engagement with the literary themes of Gustave Flaubert. The figure, rendered with elongated features and a melancholic expression, appears lost in thought or perhaps engaged in a metaphysical quest. The background is obscured by shadow, with faint, starlit points emerging from the darkness, suggesting a cosmic or internal space rather than a physical room. Redon uses the lithographic medium to create a range of textures, from the dense, light-absorbing blacks of the figure's robes to the softer, granular grey tones that define the vessel and the surrounding gloom.
Redon's approach to this subject avoids literal narrative, preferring to evoke a mood of quiet introspection. The work demonstrates his mastery of light and shadow, where the darkness does not merely represent an absence of light but acts as a physical presence. The print captures the essence of Symbolist art, where the external world is secondary to the internal experience of the artist and the viewer. This museum-grade print preserves the subtle tonal gradations of the original stone, allowing for a close examination of Redon's technical skill in manipulating ink and paper to achieve such atmospheric depth.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
And the Searcher was Engaged in an Infinite Search - Odilon Redon
Artist Biography
Odilon Redon
For the first two decades of his career he worked exclusively in black: charcoal drawings and lithographs he called his noirs. Floating eyeballs, severed heads with closed lids, spiders with human faces, plants that grow teeth. The images are hallucinatory but precisely rendered, closer to medical illustration than fantasy. He published his first lithograph album, Dans le Reve, in 1879. Nobody noticed.
Recognition came sideways. In 1884, Joris-Karl Huysmans published A rebours, a novel about a reclusive aesthete who decorates his rooms with Redon's prints. The book became a cult text for the Symbolist movement and Redon became famous by association. Stephane Mallarme, the Symbolist poet, became a close friend. Redon also completed a series of lithographs dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe, whose poems Mallarme and Baudelaire had translated into French.
After 1900 he stopped making noirs entirely and shifted to colour: pastels and oils of flowers, mythological figures and butterflies in palettes that anticipate Matisse. The transition was so complete that the Surrealists later claimed the black work while the Fauves claimed the colour, and neither group seemed to notice they were talking about the same person.
He studied under Jean-Leon Gerome at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, which is an unlikely pairing: Gerome painted Roman gladiators with photographic precision. Redon painted eyeballs attached to balloons. Goya and Delacroix were the influences that actually stuck.
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