ODILON REDON | Centaures

Durand-Ruel, Paris
Private Collection, France
Sale: Palais Galliera, Paris, December 8, 1971, lot 85
Sale: Christie's, London, June 24, 1986, lot 105
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 11, 1988, lot 24
Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York
Private Collection, New York (and sold: Sotheby's, London, June 27, 2001, lot 111)
Acquired at the above sale 

New York, Dia Foundation, Art Against AIDS, 1987, no. 88, illustrated in color in the catalogue

World Collectors Annuary, vol. XXIII, Delft, 1971
Alec Wildenstein, Odilon Redon, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné, Mythes et légendes, vol. II, Paris, 1994, no. 1244, illustrated p. 266 

This work is in excellent condition. The board is sound. The impasto is lively. Under UV light: There are minor strokes of inpainting along the upper left and lower right edges.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

After several high-profile commissions for decorative works and society portraits, Redon experienced a renewed confidence in his creativity that resulted in a liberation through color. The paintings from his late period, such as the present work, symbolize a personal victory and a blossoming of his art. While the centaur had been a motif Redon used throughout his career, never before had he painted with such vibrant jewel tones and shimmering texture (see fig. 1). In describing the evolution of his work, Marius-Ary Leblond wrote: "(He) felt the need for light (and) climbed toward color as if toward Paradise... He lifted himself up... achieving...a tender and radiant outpouring of glorious color" (quoted in Odilon Redon: Prince of Dreams (exhibition catalogue), Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago & traveling, 1994-95, p. 333).  Redon proved to be an inspiration for many younger artists, including members of the Nabis group, Henri Matisse and even Marcel Duchamp. Richard Hobbs discusses the interest in Redon shown by the Nabis: “What the Nabis actually so admired in Redon was not only the technical quality of his works but also his ability to suggest the mysterious and the spiritual. Pierre Bonnard later summed this up succinctly: "What strikes me most in his work is the coming together of two almost opposite qualities: very pure plastic substance and very mysterious expression. Our whole generation is under his charm and benefits from his advice'" (Richard Hobbs, Odilon Redon, London, 1977, p. 84). After his revolutionary showing of Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 at the 1913 Armory Show (where 38 of Redon’s works were also exhibited), Marcel Duchamp was asked whether his art or that of his contemporaries was derived from the legacy of Cézanne. He replied, "I am sure that most of my friends would say so and I know that [Cézanne] is a great man. Nevertheless, if I am to tell what my own point of departure has been, I should say that it was the art of Odilon Redon” (quoted in John Rewald, “Odilon Redon,” in Odilon Redon, Gustave Moreau, Rodolphe Bresdin (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York & Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1961-62, p. 44).