Christus - Odilon Redon
Archival giclée
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Description
A haunting lithograph by Symbolist artist Odilon Redon, depicting the head of Christ with a crown of thorns in a dreamlike, atmospheric style.
Odilon Redon, a central figure in the Symbolist movement, produced this lithograph during a period when he moved away from his earlier 'noirs' to explore religious and mythological themes. The image presents a close-up study of the head of Christ, crowned with thorns. Redon employs his characteristic mastery of lithographic technique to create a dreamlike, atmospheric quality. The light appears to emanate from within the figure, casting the surrounding space into deep, textured shadow.
The artist focuses on the expressive potential of the face. The eyes are large and upturned, conveying a sense of internal contemplation rather than physical suffering. By using a dense network of hatching and cross-hatching, Redon builds form through light and shadow, avoiding rigid outlines. This approach gives the subject a spectral, ethereal presence. The thorns are rendered with sharp, jagged marks that contrast with the softer, more diffused treatment of the skin and hair.
Redon often sought to place the logic of the visible at the service of the invisible. In this work, the physical reality of the crown of thorns is secondary to the psychological state of the subject. The composition is tight, forcing the viewer to engage directly with the gaze of the figure. This print demonstrates Redon's ability to transform traditional religious iconography into a personal, evocative vision. His work from this decade shows a shift toward a more nuanced handling of tone, where the darkness is not merely an absence of light but a medium for mystery and introspection. The print remains a compelling example of how Symbolist artists utilised traditional printmaking methods to explore subjective experience and spiritual themes, moving beyond the literal representation of their subjects.
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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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Manufacturing
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
Christus - 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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