The Old Woman: What are you afraid of? A wide black hole! Perhaps it is a void? (plate 19) - Odilon Redon
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Beskrivning
A haunting 1882 lithograph by Odilon Redon from his 'À Edgar Poe' series, exploring themes of existential dread through masterful tonal contrast.
This lithograph is plate 19 from the series 'À Edgar Poe', published in 1882. Odilon Redon, a central figure in the Symbolist movement, produced this work during his 'noirs' period. During these years, he focused almost exclusively on charcoal drawings and lithographs, exploring the expressive potential of black ink to evoke psychological states and dreamlike imagery.
The composition features a cloaked figure, identified as the old woman, positioned against a stark, ambiguous background. Redon employs a range of tonal values, from deep, velvety blacks to ethereal, ghostly whites. The light source appears internal or supernatural, casting a glow that defines the figure while leaving the surrounding space in shadow. The text included below the image, 'La Vieille: Que crains-tu? un large trou noir! Il est vide, peut-être?', translates to 'The Old Woman: What are you afraid of? A wide black hole! Perhaps it is a void?'. This dialogue, inspired by the macabre and melancholic atmosphere of Edgar Allan Poe, invites the viewer to contemplate themes of existential dread and the unknown.
Redon's technique relies on the manipulation of lithographic crayon and tusche to create textures that feel both organic and otherworldly. The figure's expression is muted, yet the surrounding darkness creates a sense of unease. This print demonstrates Redon's ability to translate literary inspiration into visual form without relying on literal illustration. Instead, he captures the mood of the text through shadow and form. The work remains a significant example of late 19th-century graphic art, demonstrating the shift away from objective representation toward the exploration of the subconscious mind. Collectors of Symbolist art will appreciate the technical mastery of the lithographic medium and the haunting quality of the imagery.
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Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
The Old Woman: What are you afraid of? A wide black hole! Perhaps it is a void? (plate 19) - Odilon Redon
Artist Biography
Odilon Redon
For the first two decades of his career he worked exclusively in black: charcoal drawings and lithographs he called his noirs. Floating eyeballs, severed heads with closed lids, spiders with human faces, plants that grow teeth. The images are hallucinatory but precisely rendered, closer to medical illustration than fantasy. He published his first lithograph album, Dans le Reve, in 1879. Nobody noticed.
Recognition came sideways. In 1884, Joris-Karl Huysmans published A rebours, a novel about a reclusive aesthete who decorates his rooms with Redon's prints. The book became a cult text for the Symbolist movement and Redon became famous by association. Stephane Mallarme, the Symbolist poet, became a close friend. Redon also completed a series of lithographs dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe, whose poems Mallarme and Baudelaire had translated into French.
After 1900 he stopped making noirs entirely and shifted to colour: pastels and oils of flowers, mythological figures and butterflies in palettes that anticipate Matisse. The transition was so complete that the Surrealists later claimed the black work while the Fauves claimed the colour, and neither group seemed to notice they were talking about the same person.
He studied under Jean-Leon Gerome at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, which is an unlikely pairing: Gerome painted Roman gladiators with photographic precision. Redon painted eyeballs attached to balloons. Goya and Delacroix were the influences that actually stuck.
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