Customer Reviews

Beyond The Visible: The Art Of Odilon Redon

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Having been a fan of Redon since the early seventies, I had positive expectations for this book. I was disappointed. The text at the beginning of the book was excellent, but the actual display of his work was only mediocre. Most of the plates were small (some quite tiny) and more of his gray toned works were displayed than his art using color where his magic really shines. Most of his best color paintings, in my opinion, simply weren't in the book. Since I own a Redon book, purchased in the seventies, one that's literally filled with color plates, my first question was to wonder if the lack of them in this book was a cost saving measure. To me, it's simply not an adequate or satisfying representation of his range. I would not purchase this book had I seen it first.

If you like Redon for his vibrant color, look for another book. Dream symbolism and spirituality that inspired Redon's imagery are the main topics of this book. Most of the many examples are black and white drawings. However, the real magic of Redon is his use of color in his mature works. This was not adequately represented.