It Is a Skull Wreathed with Roses. It Dominates a Woman's Torso of Pearly Whiteness - Odilon Redon

A haunting lithograph from the 1883 'Les Origines' series, capturing a surreal juxtaposition of a floral-wreathed skull and a luminous female torso.

This lithograph belongs to the series titled 'Les Origines', published in 1883. Odilon Redon, a central figure in the Symbolist movement, utilised the medium of lithography to explore the boundaries between reality and the subconscious. His 'noirs'—the term he used for his charcoal drawings and lithographs—are defined by a mastery of light and shadow, where deep, velvety blacks emerge to frame ethereal, often unsettling subjects. In this composition, a skull adorned with roses rests upon the torso of a woman. The contrast between the organic, decaying nature of the skull and the smooth, luminous rendering of the skin creates a tension characteristic of Redon's work. The artist avoids clear narrative, preferring to evoke a dreamlike state where objects lose their conventional meaning. The figure appears to emerge from a void, with the light catching the curves of the torso while the surrounding space remains consumed by darkness. Redon was influenced by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and the scientific curiosity of his era, particularly the study of biology and microscopic life. He often combined anatomical accuracy with imaginative, phantasmagorical elements. This print demonstrates his technical skill in lithography, using a range of textures to suggest the softness of flesh against the hard, porous surface of bone. The work invites the viewer to contemplate themes of mortality and beauty without relying on traditional allegorical structures. It remains a primary example of how Redon used monochromatic printing to achieve a psychological depth that colour often failed to capture in his earlier career.