Oeil

The present sheet represents an anthology of Redon's symbolic universe. The isolated, wide open eye - the principal protagonist of the artist's spectral charcoals - the human mezzobusto supported by a plinth (reminiscent of the metaphorical Homme cactus), and the abstract, cubic sun, exploding in the dark blackness are powefully featured in this noir. The charcoal emphasises the hallucinatory Surrealism of Redon's dessins fantastiques, blossoming from Redon's own interpretations of the contemporary scientific revolution: Pasteur's discoveries, Lamarck's theories and Darwin's studies fire his imagination, giving birth to the fantastic creatures admired by Mallarm and Huysmans.

The Wildenstein Institute has confirmed the authenticity of the present work.