He Fixed His Eyes on Me with an Expression That Was So Strange

The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs He Fixed His Eyes on Me with an Expression That Was So Strange as print (France, late 19th Century · 1896).

WHY IT’S INTERESTING

One of Redon's greatest patrons, the occultist René Philipon, commissioned this portfolio as a supplement for his French translation of Bulwer-Lytton's The Haunted and the Haunters.

SERENDIPITYA little unexpected

FamiliarWeird

A CLOSER LOOK

The museum identifies this print as lithograph on China paper laid on wove paper and credits Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916).

The museum's collection notes: Odilon Redon was a voracious reader of contemporary literature, and such texts often influenced his art. This series was inspired by The Haunted and the Haunters, an 1859 novel by British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Redon’s prints capture the book’s mysterious tone and emphasis on the supernatural through vague but evocative imagery that sometimes borders on abstraction. By this time a seasoned expert in lithography, the artist collaborated with master printer Auguste Clot. Their combined technical skills allowed for the rich tonal variation seen here, made by turning Redon’s lithographic crayon on its side, layering various marks, and even

FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE

The Cleveland Museum of ArtHe Fixed His Eyes on Me with an Expression That Was So Strange

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