Brightly colored pastel portrait of a young woman turned to face left in profile, looking to the left.
Odilon Redon, French, 1840–1916, “Head of a Young Woman.” Pastel on gray-prepared paper. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop, 1943.905. Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Odilon Redon, French, 1840–1916, “Head of a Young Woman.” Pastel on gray-prepared paper. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop, 1943.905. Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

Drawn in contrasting colors of bright blues, pinks, and oranges, the young woman’s face is drawn in accurate detail in light red marks, while her blue and pink top stands out for its color and abstract design. Her hair drawn in pinks and oranges, is tucked up into a bun behind her head. The background is abstract colorful markings with a blue reptile creature snaking along the left edge, its tail at the top and head midway down the page, with strokes of yellow underbelly.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.905
People
Odilon Redon, French (Bordeaux, France 1840 - 1916 Paris, France)
Title
Head of a Young Woman
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
19th-20th century
Culture
French
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297207

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Pastel on gray-prepared paper
Dimensions
52.6 x 37.7 cm (20 11/16 x 14 13/16 in.)
frame: 61.6 × 48.9 cm (24 1/4 × 19 1/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.905
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Klaus Berger, Odilon Redon: Fantasy and Colour, McGraw-Hill Book Company (New York, Toronto, London, 1965), cat. no. 407
  • Roseline Bacou, Odilon Redon Pastels, George Braziller, Inc. (New York, 1987), cat. no. 44, repr.
  • Alec Wildenstein, Odilon Redon: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné, Wildenstein Institute (Paris, 1992-1998), vol. 1, p. 129, cat. no 308, repr.
  • Edward Saywell, "Guide to Drawing Terms and Techniques", Harvard University Art Museums Bulletin, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1998), vol. VI, no. 2, pp. 30-39, p. 35 under "Pastel"
  • Greg Stone, Artful Business: 50 Lessons from Creative Geniuses (Boston, 2016), p. 114, ill. (color)
  • Colleen Walsh, Drawing Power: Harvard Art Museums exhibit a showcase for masterworks in progress, Harvard Gazette ([online], May 19, 2016), http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/05/drawing-power/, accessed May 23, 2016
  • Carey Dunne, Flowers of Evil and the Macabre Literary Imagination of Symbolism, Hyperalleric (July 4, 2016), [e-journal], http://hyperallergic.com/305877/flowers-of-evil-and-the-macabre-literary-imagination-of-symbolism/, accessed January 9, 2017
  • Franklin Einspruch, Fuse Visual Art Review: A Pair of Drawing Shows at the Harvard Art Museums, The Arts Fuse ([e-journal], June 9, 2016), repr., http://artsfuse.org/146319/fuse-visual-arts-review-a-pair-of-drawing-shows-at-the-harvard-art-museums/, accessed June 9, 2016

Exhibition History

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu