Odilon Redon French, 1840-1916

Baron Robert de Domecy, Château de Domecy, Sermizelles (acquired from the artist); thence by descent
Private Collection
Kunsthandel Wolfgang Werner, Bremen & Berlin
Kunsthandel Sabine Helms, Munich

Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Odilon Redon, La Vie Moderne, 1881
Paris, Le Gaulois, Deuxième exposition des dessins de M. Odilon Redon, 1882
Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Odilon Redon, 1894
Lugano, Museo Cantonale d'Arte, Odilon Redon, La Natura dell'Invisible, 1996, no. 38, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Emile Hennequin, 'Odilon Redon', Beaux-Arts, 1886
J.E. Schmitt, 'Choses d'art. Exposition Odilon Redon', Le Siècle, 31 March 1894, p. 2
P. Verdun, 'Album d'artiste', Le Peuple français, 31 March 1894, p. 2
André Mellerio, Redon, Paris, 1923, p. 204
Auriant, 'Des lettres inédites d'Odilon Redon', Beaux-Arts, 7 June 1935, p. 2
Douglas Druick ed., Odilon Redon, Prince of Dreams 1840-1916, New York, 1994, pp. 128-129; 134-135 & 453, fig. 13:14, illustrated
O. Christ, 'Wiederentdeckung eines Mystikers', Kunst und Antiquitäten, December 1994, p. 14, fig. 4, illustrated in colour
Alec Wildenstein, Odilon Redon, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné, vol. IV, Etudes et grandes décorations,  Paris, 1998, p. 275, no. 2635, illustrated
Barbara Larson, Odilon Redon, The Dark Side of Nature, Pennsylvania, 2005, p. 91, no. 76, illustrated

This condition report has been provided by Jane McAusland FIIC, Conservator and Restorer of Art on Paper, Nether Hall Barn, Old Newton, Nr Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14. C O N D I T I O N R E P O R T SOTHEBY'S - SYMBOLISM AND THE POETIC VISION - 14 NOVEMBER 2007 Lot 258 Odilon Redon French, 1840-1916 LES BOUES ou DANS LES BOUES PRIMORDIALES Signed ODILON REDON l.r. Charcoal and black chalk on paper 29.5 x 24 cm Support The artist has used a sheet of wove paper to support this drawing. The sheet is a little brittle and time-stained. On the verso there are some fox marks. The right-hand and foot edges show slight mount stains. The lower left-hand edge is slightly cracked to a depth of approximately 0.50 cm. Medium The medium is in a good condition. Note: This work was viewed outside studio conditions. JANE McAUSLAND London office: Flat 3, 41 Lexington Street, Soho, London W1F 9AJ Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works Jane McAusland Limited trading as Jane McAusland FIIC
"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."

Executed circa 1880, the present work evokes Redon's reflections noted in his diary following a visit to the Jardin d'acclimatation, Paris: 'How much poetry resides in these perfect organisms that emerge from simple mud to lisp next to us the first verse of the universal song!' (Odilon Redon, A soi-même, p. 85).

Having observed micro-organisms and amoebae through the microscope of his friend, the botanist Armand Clavaud, Redon became fascinated with the parallel reality of the 'invisible world' of the infinitely small, a fascination shared by many of his contemporaries. Microscopes were then not widely in use, and the world they made visible soon became popular entertainment for the masses at Parisian theatres such as the Théâtre des Menus Plaisirs. Redon was gripped by this microbial world, and executed numerous charcoals depicting what he called 'primeval forms'. Some of these were later reproduced as lithographs in the 1883 album Les Origines.