Un fou, dans un morne paysage - Odilon Redon
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Description
A haunting 1885 lithograph by French Symbolist Odilon Redon, depicting a solitary figure in a desolate, dreamlike setting.
This lithograph, titled Un fou, dans un morne paysage, is the third plate from the 1885 portfolio Hommage à Goya. Odilon Redon, a central figure in the Symbolist movement, produced this series to explore the psychological depths of the human condition. The work depicts a solitary, bearded figure standing before a massive, hollowed tree trunk. The surrounding terrain is barren, rendered with sparse, hatched lines that suggest a desolate and otherworldly environment.
Redon utilised the medium of lithography to achieve a range of grey tones, moving away from the rigid precision of traditional engraving. The figure, with his crossed arms and fixed gaze, appears detached from his surroundings. His presence is ambiguous, existing in a space that feels both physical and internal. The tree, which dominates the upper portion of the composition, acts as a framing device, drawing the eye toward the central character while simultaneously isolating him within the frame.
Unlike the objective realism prevalent in much of the nineteenth-century art world, Redon focused on the subjective experience. His work often draws upon dreams, nightmares, and the subconscious. This particular print reflects his interest in the macabre and the melancholic, themes he frequently revisited throughout his career. The stark contrast between the dark, textured bark of the tree and the lighter, open ground creates a sense of unease. By stripping away unnecessary detail, Redon forces the viewer to confront the psychological weight of the subject. The print remains a clear example of his ability to evoke complex emotional states through minimal visual information, prioritising atmosphere over narrative clarity.
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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
Un fou, dans un morne paysage - 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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