Student Artwork Guide

4 parts 1 The artwork2 In context3 Artist and museum4 Look closely

Name Class Date

Odilon Redon, Red Thorns. Public domain.

The facts

Artist: Odilon Redon artsdot.com/en/artists/odilon-redon/
Artist’s dates: 1840 – 1916
Original size: 51 x 37 cm
Movement: Symbolism Pictures where objects stand for ideas — a flower or a door meaning something beyond itself.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Odilon Redon died in 1916; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1986.

Red Thorns — Odilon Redon

How big is it?

The original measures 51 × 37 cm (height × width), drawn here beside an adult of average height.

When might this have been painted?

1840
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910

Shaded: the lifetime of Odilon Redon (1840–1916)

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Young Girl in a Blue Bonnet artsdot.com/en/art/odilon-redon-young-girl-in-a-blue-bonnet-8EWMTY-en/
The Window, 1907 artsdot.com/en/art/odilon-redon-the-window-8EWMS3-en/
Roger and Angelica, 1910 artsdot.com/en/art/odilon-redon-roger-and-angelica-D2N7UF-en/

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: artsdot.com/en/art/similar/odilon-redon-red-thorns-8EWMP3-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

Main colour

Gray #687667

Catalogued palette

#687667
#261F28
#DCCFC1
#1C3084

Palette: Dark The dominant colour family in the image.
Main colour name: Gray
Intensity: Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
Contrast: Bold How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
Harmony: Strong Color Unity How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
Brightness: Deep_shadow How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
Saturation: Clear Color Presence How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

Red Thorns — Odilon Redon

Artist

Odilon Redon

Born in Bordeaux, France

A World Beyond the Visible: The Enigmatic Art of Odilon Redon

Odilon Redon, born Bertrand-Jean Redon in 1840 in Bordeaux, France, was an artist perpetually drawn to translate the unseen realms of imagination and dream into tangible form. His artistic journey began not with grand ambition but with quiet observation; at just ten years old he won a drawing prize—a foreshadowing of the visual sensitivity that would define his life’s work. Though initially steered towards architecture by familial expectations, Redon's true calling lay elsewhere, illuminated by instruction from Jean-Léon Gérôme and, crucially, Rodolphe Bresdin, who guided him in the intricate arts of etching and lithography. These techniques became foundational to his early explorations, allowing him to delve into a world of shadowy figures and ambiguous forms that would soon captivate those seeking an alternative to academic realism. The interruption of the Franco-Prussian War saw Redon briefly serving in the military, but it was upon his return to Paris that his artistic vision truly began to coalesce.

The Birth of Symbolism: ‘Noirs’ and Early Visions

Redon's early career was marked by a deliberate withdrawal from prevailing artistic trends.

Where to read more

The artist Odilon Redon artsdot.com/en/artists/odilon-redon/
Similar works More works to compare artsdot.com/en/art/similar/odilon-redon-red-thorns-8EWMP3-en/

Find this online

QR code linking to the download page for Red Thorns

artsdot.com/en/art/download/odilon-redon-red-thorns-8EWMP3-en/

Cite this artwork

MLA: Redon, Odilon. Red Thorns. n.d., https://artsdot.com/en/art/odilon-redon-red-thorns-8EWMP3-en/
APA: Redon, Odilon (n.d.). Red Thorns [Painting]. https://artsdot.com/en/art/odilon-redon-red-thorns-8EWMP3-en/
Chicago: Odilon Redon. Red Thorns. n.d. https://artsdot.com/en/art/odilon-redon-red-thorns-8EWMP3-en/
Harvard: Redon, Odilon (n.d.) Red Thorns. Available at: https://artsdot.com/en/art/odilon-redon-red-thorns-8EWMP3-en/

Red Thorns — Odilon Redon

Look closely

Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

What catches your eye first, and why?
Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
Our catalogue files this work under: symbols, women, colour. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
Look back at Young Girl in a Blue Bonnet, earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
Symbolism: Pictures where objects stand for ideas — a flower or a door meaning something beyond itself. Where can you see that in this work?

Your response

Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.