Odilon Redon

Gustave Fayet, Béziers
D'Andoque de Sérièges Collection, France
Paul Bacou, Paris
Zélicourt Collection, France (acquired circa 1970)
Wildenstein & Co., Paris & New York
Private Collection (acquired circa 1987)
Sale: Christie's, New York, 18th November 1998, lot 19
Acquired at the above sale (sale: Christie's, New York, 5th May 2005, lot 249)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Tokyo, Wildenstein & Co., Masterpieces of French Painting, 1986, illustrated in the catalogue

Alec Wildenstein, Odilon Redon, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint et dessiné: Fleurs et paysages, Paris, 1996, vol. III, no. 1512, illustrated p. 104

The canvas is not lined. There is a 5 by 10cm. area of lines and scattered pinhead-sized spots of retouching to the lower centre of the left edge and a 0.5cm. sq. spot of retouching above the 'n' of the signature. All retouching is visible under UV light. Apart from some further scattered pinhead-sized spots of retouching to the area at the left of the vase's base, this work is in good condition. Colours: The colours, particularly the blues, are slightly richer in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'He painted the flower: he discovered it ...'
(Marius-Ary Leblond, 'The Marvellous in Painting, 1907)

Odilon Redon's floral still lives are among the most magnificent colouristic achievements of any modern painter. With their intense patterns of ethereal blooms, his compositions give form to the artist's internalised experience of nature, one which owes much to his early Symbolist imagery and the preoccupation with those essential, Platonic truths lying beyond everyday reality. These canvases represent Redon's transcendental search for what Stéphane Mallarmé called 'l'absente de tous bouquets', the ideal flower which is absent from all real bouquets - a manifestation of beauty that can only be conceived in the realm of the spiritual.

Bouquet de fleurs dans un vase bleu is an outstanding example of Redon's technical mastery – particularly with respect to the tonal gradation and the suggestion of light. The warm pastel hues which comprise the atmospheric background are rendered meticulously, whilst the still life itself exists in isolation; the table on which the vase stands is barely suggested with a subtle lightening of tone and the shadows are almost intangible. The effect is to transform the natural and ephemeral into a rich phantasmagoria of luminous colours and lyrical sensations. Redon's floral paintings and pastels should therefore be considered as a continuation of his Symbolist works, dominated by mythical, figurative subjects, which the artist created during the late nineteenth century.  

The first owner of this painting was the painter Gustave Fayet (1865-1925). Fayet adopted a Symbolist style close to that of Redon and Paul Gauguin, both of whom he admired and whose works he collected. Fayet's collection also included many works by foremost Impressionists, but Redon and Gauguin were especially well represented.