Redon, Odilon (1840-1916)

French painter and graphic artist. One of the major figures of Symbolism, he is famous for his fantastic and dreamlike images. From 1890 onwards he produced oil paintings and pastels, brilliant in colour, including numerous flower pieces. His works anticipated surrealism.

Born in Bordeaux, he studied art there and in Paris, and first became noted for his highly original lithographs, inspired partly by the graphic work of Goya and partly by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, and J K Huysmans.

His work was seen as a major contribution to Symbolism, especially by the literary Symbolists, in particular the poet Stéphane Mallarmé. His thoughts on art are contained in his journal, A soi-même, published 1922.