It Is the Devil, Bearing Beneath His Two Wings the Seven Deadly Sins - Odilon Redon

A haunting lithograph by Odilon Redon from his 1891 series, depicting a dark, winged figure sheltering the seven deadly sins.

This lithograph is the second plate from the series titled 'Les Tentations de Saint Antoine', published in 1891. Odilon Redon, a central figure in the Symbolist movement, focused his practice on the exploration of the subconscious and the dreamlike states of the human mind. In this work, he depicts a dark, looming figure that occupies the majority of the frame. The devil is rendered with a heavy, brooding presence, his wings acting as a shroud for the seven figures huddled beneath him. These smaller forms represent the seven deadly sins, appearing as indistinct, ghostly shapes that cling to the central entity. Redon utilised the medium of lithography to achieve a specific quality of darkness. He manipulated the stone to create deep, velvety blacks that contrast with the faint, ethereal light catching the edges of the forms. The texture is granular and dense, reflecting his interest in the 'noirs', a term he used to describe his monochromatic works. By avoiding clear outlines, Redon allows the viewer to project their own interpretations onto the ambiguous shapes. The composition is claustrophobic, forcing the eye to focus on the interplay between the massive, oppressive wings and the small, vulnerable figures below. This print demonstrates his ability to translate literary themes into visual narratives that rely on atmosphere rather than explicit detail. The work is not a literal illustration of the text, but rather an evocative response to the psychological weight of the subject matter. It remains a primary example of how late nineteenth-century printmaking moved away from objective representation towards the expression of internal, often unsettling, visions.